I hadn't been to the garden in 2 weeks, although it's been on the list daily. We had camp, a collision, college prep, and a trip to Charlotte, among other things. I had a skeleton crew of 2 younger children, so I assumed falsely that since it's rained often and there's been no need to fertilize or use pesticides, that things would hold up. When Michael came home from camp, he rode over on his Daddy's old dirt bike, as he always does, and returned disappointed. He's helped cultivate and pick, becoming fond of the process. Passing through the room, he asked, "What was the point of doing it?"
This morning I walked 2 miles with Miranda before she went to work. When she went in to shower, I nabbed Smokey in the carport to brush away his shedding hair. It made sense to take in on over across the creek to the garden, to deter deer. Driving over and from a distance I was shamed to already see what Michael had described, that except for the corn, it didn't even look like a garden.
I put on my gloves and shouldered the hoe to begin surveying the overgrowth. It didn't take long to find that "strangers" were enjoying our garden. The fish line fence had only fooled them for so long and needs a higher strand now, so the temptation is harder to quench. The garden looks a mess to me but to the onlookers, it must be enticing.
I began with the sweet potatoes, tracks running alongside and leaves nibbled upon. I was glad that they are yet to be ready for harvest ...glad that they lie low as pressing work gets done. I moved to the squash that Mike planted as a second round ...thankful that they are still flowering since the first ones are either overgrown or decaying. Even those can be cast to the cows, removing waste from the picture.
I had moved to the peppers on my knees weeding them by hand before this blog came full circle. Let them, the pepper plants: banana, cayenne, jalepeno, habanero, be our "men", the spice of life. Mine's branches were bending, heavy with produce, peppers ready to drop, a few already had ...for some other creature to acquire ...because I hadn't received what was mine.
Behind me was the corn, some of it trampled on, some of it being eaten away by beatles. Let them be our "friends". I have 2 particular friends I've needed to visit: one being destroyed by trespassers of her yesterdays, one being worn away by the 93 years her body has given her. I was reminded that a note might suffice for now, just as long as they know they aren't forgotten.
The big project will be the 96 tomato plants that we didn't finish putting twine up for between the posts. They are laden with fruit touching the ground, rotting, ripeness wasted. Let them be our "children". We've lost opportunities for relevant learning and sweet moments. The great thing is that there are loads of green tomatoes, gracing me with time to recoop some of those losses.
How little work would I have if I had raised my fence, been a careful steward, and had timely gathering? How about you? Do you even recognize your garden? Would you be distraught if someone visited it? Is someone stealing from it while you look the other way? Are things ruining from the inside out, tossed to the wayside? Have you planted too many seeds, making you spread too thin? Is it all out of sight, out of mind? If so, bring it in closer to home.
The good news is that the ground was still wet and a breeze was blowing. The birds were chirping and the dogs sat guard. There is still time to salvage my mess. God's patience and mercy don't cease to amaze me.
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