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I meet an Olympian and make gardening metaphors

The leaves looked lovely outside of the Blackhawk Building on the Rock County Fairgrounds. I wanted to grind them up with a mower and use them for mulch.

Ok, I had to write something about gardening because this is blog about gardening.

But here's what I really want to tell you: I got to curl with Olympian Debbie McCormick. It was indescribably cool.

Curling is what I do when the gardening season ends. It's the perfect intermezzo between late fall and early spring. It makes the winter go fast, and by the time the season's over in mid-March, I'm refreshed and ready to get outside again.

Like gardening, learning to curl is a process that you have to enjoy. It's a lifetime sport, but you can't expect perfection too quickly.

Of course, both Debbie and Pete McCormick look perfect on the ice: Powerful, elegant and focused.

The pair came to Janesville for Blackhawk Curling Club's open house on Saturday.

We watched her curl, and then she talked a little bit about going to the Olympics.

Debbie has been to two Olympics and is headed to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics.

She’s the 2003 World Champion and won the U.S. National Championship in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

At the last Olympics, the American women came in fourth and the American men brought home a bronze.

Debbie is the "skip" of her team. The skip is the team leader who designs the strategy and throws the last two stones each round. Her team consists of Allison Pottinger of Eden Prairie, Minn., Nicole Joraanstad of Madison, and Natalie Nicholson of Bemidji, Minn. Tracy Sachtjen of Lodi is the “fifth” or alternate.

On Saturday, Debbie and Pete introduced some beginners to the sport. When she didn't look busy, I asked her about my delivery. I won't go into detail--because only curlers will be interested--but basically she said it looked OK.

OK, that sounds pretty mundane, but it was so encouraging to hear. I've been struggling to be better, and wondering if there was something organically (meaning "inherently", not "a system of gardening that doesn't use chemical pesticide or weed killers") wrong with what I was doing.

Debbie and Pete also gave me some great advice how to practice for outside shots.

They were really friendly, and the whole experience made me feel so much better about the upcoming curling season.

It's like those moments in spring when you put the first seeds in the ground and look forward-with confidence-to the pleasure of another growing season.

Sure, that feeling doesn't always last, but it's a great way to start.

Thanks Debbie and Pete.

Go Team USA!