The gardening has started

Yesterday I planted sugar snap peas, lettuce, cabbage, and beets.  The grass has started growing with the warm days we've had lately, so I decided my garden may as well be growing too.  I only planted things that won't be harmed by a freeze or snow.  
Planting the seeds is the easy part.  Of the things I planted, I see only one that will likely be trouble-free:  beets.  That is one vegetable that has never given me a problem.  I'll have to dust the cabbage to keep the worms from consuming them.  The peas and lettuce will likely be eaten by rabbits before they get any size to them.  And I'll will be left wondering why I even bother.  This reminds me of a poem I wrote in April of 1992:
  

There's a gorgeous spring day in the making,

And a peach-blossom scent on the breeze;

So I know I should be quite contented,

But the rabbits are eating my peas!

The sun shines, with no cloud to dim it,

And the birds twitter, up in the trees ---

But out in my early spring garden,

The rabbits are eating my peas!

On a beautiful morning like this one

My heart should be light as you please,

But I can't get myself in the spirit

When the rabbits are eating my peas.

There's a song wafting through God's creation

On bright, April mornings like these;

But how can I keep myself smiling

When the rabbits are eating my peas!  

Our winter has been so dry, I can't help but wonder if we are in for a dry spring and summer.  We're due for a drought, after three years of abundant moisture.  But today, hope springs eternal.  I have visions of a perfect garden unmarred by squash bugs, cabbage worms, and tomato blight.  
I can dream, can't I?

    Were my granddaughters really that young once?  Where has the time gone?