There's plenty of joy in Farmville

I have won ribbons for being a Green Thumb, a Tree Hugger, a Crop Whisperer and Cream of the Crop.

I've harvested perfect bunches of daffodils and tulips and given them away to my friends from my magic Garden Shed.

Even as I type, I have rows of grapes sparkling with Super Grow fertilizer sprinkled by kind Farmville Neighbors. The vineyard will probably be ready for harvest tonight, earning me more coins to buy barns and birdbaths.

Life is good on my Farmville farm.

Yes, it's a game, a computer game, a Facebook application.

I don't usually play games, particularly computer and video games. I think they're a colossal waste of time. Poker I like because money's involved. And board games teach kids how to win, lose, count and spell. Those games have a purpose.

Farmville doesn't seem to have one. I love it anyway.

I talk to my Farmville Friends as happily about events in our make-believe world as we garden friends talk about our real-life blossoms and nematodes.

(There are no nematodes in Farmville, by the way.)

"I'd really like to grow blueberries, but they get ripe too fast. They'll dry up before I can get back to harvest them."

"Love your new mailbox!"

"Wow! You got a pink cow! Lucky you!"

When my husband overhears these conversations, he eavesdrops with interest until he catches on.

"You're talking about a game," he says with disdain.

And football and golf are ... what?

I'm not sure how long my infatuation with clicking to plant, clicking to harvest, and decorating my farm with violet fences and elephant topiaries will last. I suspect the end will coincide with the resumption of Daylight Savings Time on March 14.

I haven't been able to putter in my own garden after work since we "fell back" to regular time Nov. 1. It's dark when I get home. If I want garden time on a weekday, I'll have to get up extra early. ... Hmmm. Not.

So I'm planting daffodils and soybeans and looking forward to reaching Level 25, when sunflowers become an option.