Is it Spring yet? Farmville on facebook is getting real old!!!!!!!!

What can I say?! I am a gardener, I love the dirt... I love the watering, I love the earthworms!
But! During our northern winters, planting a garden, unless under lights indoors.. is just plain out of the question! If I am unable to get enough Vitamin D during the winter, those plants certainly can't either.
So, what does any ingenious gardener do? They turn to Farmville (www.Farmville.com) of course : D
Ahhh, tilling soil, planting any number of grains, flowers, trees and raising animals! Just like the real thing, right?!  Well, during the glazed over due to a cold or flu months of December to March, it works pretty well.
Social interaction without going outside, ability to wear warm jammies and look awful while sick, a schedule of what needs to be done and getting things harvested... ahhh, perfect!
Then the Spring Vernal Equinox arrives. The days are now longer, the flu season is almost over, its warming up and you do not have to dress like Nanook of the North to and from work just to stay alive! Ok, maybe that last part was a bit of an exaggeration, but only slightly , honest!

Back to farmville : ) Farmville satisfies all those needs, sew, produce, reap, grow stuff, till in the dirt, plan your layout and have more animals than you probably can where you live! Utopia! Over and over and over again. All was well until the outlying  ranches start tilling REAL fields, REAL animals have lambs , and REAL seeds are shipped to your door!
What was I thinking! As you look through new eyes at the simplistic game that got you past the nasty Winter weather and keep you getting up, getting going and contemplating GARDENING!

With your eyes wide opened again in the warmth of Spring, sadly and I should say enthusiastically in some ways "wean" myself off of the virtual garden and livestock I have been caring for and back to the  REAL garden that now needs to be planned. I will miss Farmville, but know that all my neighbors that I made , all 127 people from around the world are all still there to exchange REAL gardening ideas with as they were all in a very similar stupor all winter awaiting the ground breaking day when they too can get dirty in REAL dirt!

So do not chastise Farmville players, we are serious gardeners asleep at the wheel -- I mean keyboard, awaiting Spring!

So, if late one night you are in need of a Farmville neighbor, send me a note and I will add you in my little group of gardeners awaiting the days when they can get dirt under their nails and REALLY grow what they want!

Take care and Spring is just around the corner, I can feel it!