We gardeners are an optimistic lot, particularly in the spring — nothing like getting into the soil for the first time, setting out the plants that will make the early garden. 
For two years I had a large friend with an even larger propensity to lie happily in the freshly dug and composted beds. I had barely finished putting out the compost when down he went, and would not move from ‘his place.’ So I dug another bed close by, leaving the first to my friend Liam. 
The combination of Liam and my little new plants made my soul-of-spring glow.