I had every intention of heading home immediately after the gym this morning to wash my grease-mess hair. Once home, however, the sun was shining just so, the breeze was blowing in just the right way and, I remembered, it's Earth Day.

To my garden I went, tout de suite!

My tulips have put on less and less of a show over the past few years, and I've been meaning to dig up the bulbs, give the ones the squirrels haven't gnawed at a serious Bulb Tone bath, and replant. I assumed I'd be twenty minutes, thirty max. Because my hair. It's truly disgusting.

Once in, well, you know what happened. I gently tilled up every leaves-only tulip I saw, all the while throwing away every grub I encountered and making small, appreciative talk with each worm. I'm certain that if anyone was listening, they thought me slightly off. I was just thanking those worms left and right. Whatever.

It occurred to me, once I had the bulbs soaking in their restorative pool, that now would be the time to add new perennials, something else I've been meaning to do.

To the nursery I went, immédiatement.

Oh, the nursery. It's my happy place until I run into the happy, corpulent jester-wannabe whose jokes I just can't learn to love. Bygones. I did not encounter said person and left with a tray of beautiful plants and a few veggies.

Two hours later, things look better than ever. More worm-talk, more grubs in the trash, the soil so nicely aerated and happy, the tended tulips back home.

I have decided not to spend today listening to any climate change-denying foolishness but rather to enjoy my little patch, toss my compost pile, clean and recycle old plastic bags and be grateful for all those working for the health our Earth. If you'd like to learn a bit more about Earth Day's history, activism on its behalf, why we need environmental regulation and so forth, read my Earth Day 2014 post.

On the way in, I picked some fresh mint from a pot on my deck. I've been eyeing some spring pea tortellini that I'd stashed in the freezer a couple weeks ago and thought a mint-lemon-butter sauce would make them sing.