Just when you think the rain will never stop suddenly you find yourself up at dawn to pour water on the garden because it has been so dry. The cycle continues, fortunately.
Cecil is impervious to such whims of nature. Though he does savor the tender greens as they push through the winter straw. Every sunrise, he reminds of the value of stoicism. While days of pulling the cart are behind him, ours remain.
Spring brought new life. Squaking their demands with small voices but big ambitions.
We entertain the possibility of self-sufficiency far more than we embrace the reality of that sizeable task.
The cycle of the seasons - and the weather of a mountain adjacent sub-tropical river basin, is a bounty of lessons about patience, hard work, and letting go. The trick is to heed them early and often.
The cucumber beetles, like so many democrats hungry for the gibs of "the Government", come for your tender greens. Where were they when you were turning the soil in the heat of the day? Ha. Don't be so hateful!
As soon as the little devils are dispatched, the Japanese beetles arrive with appetites that outsize their bodies. The only saving grace for this camp of the saints, is that their drive to consume is mitigated by a rather short life span.
Well, unless you are the plumb tree. Then these invaders seem to live forever. Such is the way of perspective.
Spring is surrendering to summer, right this day. There is still time to work the soil, plant, and cultivate what might be enjoyed come autumn.
But more importantly, there are those lessons for the taking. Which are worth their weight in what would have been cucumbers. What are you planting?