种植的不仅仅是花园

 We Have Planted More Than a Garden

    种植的不仅仅是花园
    在你种植花园的时候，你一并也种下了希望；哪怕花园没有好的收成，希望仍可以带给你美好的明天。

　　As I write, a gentle, much needed rain is falling this morning. It has been a dry spring here in Vermont.1 So dry in fact, that the Spring Peepers were late enough in coming that many thought that these amazing little frogs would fail to bless us with their song this year.2 But they came, and I can't fault3 them for being tardy. In almost any seasonal4 wetland in the state these frogs can be heard. They are a sign of spring, and of rebirth and renewal.

　　It is late June and the mountain snow has left the higher slopes of the mountains. Folks have planted their gardens, even though there is still the threat of frost. Yes, it is almost July, yet in the evenings here, the thermometer can still sometimes dip into the low-thirties this time of year.5 My family planted our garden during the last weekend of May, and frost came twice since then, luckily not a killing frost. But others were not so lucky. There is a very ambitious gardener in the village that lost most of his non-hardy6 plants this year. There is a saying in this state:"if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." This spring has demonstrated the validity of this old saw.7 Twice this spring it has been warm enough in the day that my family went swimming, but there was frost on the ground the next morning.

　　I enjoy the juxtaposition of the vagaries of the climate and the steady rhythms of life here.8 Folks have been tending to the chores of spring for generations, knowing full well that they really can't depend upon the hand that nature will deal them.9 Planting a garden in Vermont amounts to an act of faith. Will our sweat and toil be rewarded by abundance enough to share with our friends and extended families, or will a killing frost render these efforts exercises in futility.10

　　And I have planted more than a garden this year. My family was recently faced with a tough decision, do we leave this place and the people whom we have come to know and love, or do we stay and make a commitment.11 Well, we have decided that this is where we will make our stand.12 Along with our little garden, this year we have planted ourselves. And this is no less an act of faith than the one mentioned above. Will my family be blessed with that which is needed to grow and flourish. We have no way of knowing this...but we do have faith. The rain has stopped and the sun is shining. Strong winds have blown the cloud cover away. It is a beautiful day. Vermont gardening.

　　There is another saying among farmers here: "there is no better fertilizer than a farmer's footprints."13 To me this means that which is planted must be revisited often. The garden must be nurtured and tended. It must be cared for with love. It seems to me that this applies to our lives as well. Hopes and dreams and aspirations must be revisited often lest14 we loose sight of the things that are really important to us. Commitments must be tended to as carefully as any garden plot. But as with gardening, there are no guarantees. But there is faith, and today is a beautiful day.

1． Vermont：（美国）佛蒙特州。
2． 甚至由于干旱，雨蛙都姗姗来迟，以致于许多人认为这些神奇的小东西今年不会再用它们的歌声来祝福我们了。
in fact:[用以表示递进语气]甚至；确切地说。 Spring Peeper：雨蛙。
3． fault：这里是动词，"批评，指责"之意。
4． seasonal：随季节变化的，季节性的。
5． 意思是有时气温只有华氏30多度。
thermometer：温度计； dip into：涉猎，涉及。
6． non-hardy：（植物等）不耐寒的，抗寒性差的。
7． saw：谚语，格言。
8． 我很享受这个地方气候的变化无常与生活节奏的稳定平和并存的情形。
juxtaposition：并置，并列。vagary：难以预测的行为（或情况）。
9． 人们世世代代习惯了春天的劳作，很清楚地知道他们不能仅仅依赖自然赋予的运气。hand:（纸牌游戏中的）一手牌；deal：发牌。
10． 我们的汗水和辛劳能获得足够丰裕的收成来与朋友及家中老少分享，抑或致命的霜冻会使我们的努力白废？extended family:大家庭（如与祖父母、已婚子女等共居的数代同堂家庭）。
11. make a commitment：作出承诺。
12. make a stand: 固守，坚持立场。
13. 再好的化肥也比不上农民的脚印。意思是农民对庄稼的亲自料理更为重要。fertilizer：化学肥料。
14. lest:（在连接的状语从句里常用原形动词或should）免得，为了不使。