I garden, usually barefoot!
I also like "night gardening" when it is quiet and still and nobody else is around but me and the night critters!
I find gardening therapeutic in many ways. Here is Southern Cal. it is possible to grow things almost year round. I know...people in other parts of the country, please, don't hate me for saying that!
It feels good to smell the earth. Gardening teaches trust and faith and patience. When I am alone in the yard I feel my closest connection to God. I guess you could say it is an almost spiritual experience.
Seriously, as I write this I am again pondering if there is a way to make gardening somehow part of my "life's work". What will I be when I grow up? Hmmm.
Thanks for the question. It has provoked some thought.
-K