May 21, 2025
Work has begun on our family’s annual garden project.
We consider it a project, because we have 4 table gardens for veggies, as well
as various smaller gardens for flowers and pretty leafy foliage.
I believe I mentioned in a previous essay that this
year, our daughter bought her father a portable greenhouse, sufficient in size
for his use. He was thrilled, truly. Until that day he had a rack of shelves
set up in front of an upstairs window, the one with southern exposure that
assured maximum sunlight. However, going up and down those stairs to the second
level, carrying a watering can, is something he dreads doing anymore.
I certainly don’t blame him. Stair climbing is an
activity I only undertake under the most urgent of circumstances. It takes a
lot of effort and it can be dangerous.
The fact that here we are, in the middle of May, near
the traditional “time to plant day” and the only thing growing inside that
greenhouse is a tray of cat grass? Well, I suppose one can’t rush into these
new-fangled ways and means all willy-nilly like. Adjustment to new ideas takes
time. One must work oneself up to the point that the desire for change is
larger than the apprehension of same.
Rather than starting his green beans ahead of time
this year, my husband decided that instead, he would fully prep the two gardens
slated to hold the beans, first. And by fully prep, I mean he decided to build
two top-of-garden frames that would support screen material, that he could
place on top of the table gardens.
The plan is: plant the green-bean seeds and then place
the frame on top of the garden, to protect the seeds from our resident
squirrels and chipmunks. The planted seeds will receive sun and rain but not claws
and nibbles.
It’s a good, solid plan and the frames are solid as
well. They will come off while he waters and tends to the future sprouts. And they
will come off for good once the plants are sufficiently grown.
We’re in a stretch of very cool weather at the moment.
Looking ahead, the forecast calls for rain from tomorrow until Saturday.
Saturday is supposed to be a bit warmer, and sunny, and that is the day that
the planting will begin.
This year, as well as not planting green-bean seeds
ahead of time, my husband has decided not to plant any tomato seeds, either.
Instead, he will be purchasing all the tomato plants, and that, too, will
happen this coming weekend.
One never knows at the time of planting what kind of a
harvest one will reap. There’s a metaphor for life itself in that sentence.
We don’t any of us know what the future may hold. The best
that we can do is the best that we can do, and the best that we can do should
be enough. Just as long as we are truly giving it our best effort.
With gardening and with life what is required more
than any other element is faith. We must step out on faith. We must trust that if we plant those seeds,
protect those seeds, and nurture those seeds, that something good will grow
from those seeds.
My husband has successfully made an adjustment in one
other area of his life. As you may recall, we have two small dogs, progeny of
our beloved Mr. Tuffy. From the time they were little, David leash-trained them
and found great pleasure in walking them every day. First the girl dog(Missy),
then the boy(Bear-Bear). Every day. And, as I am sure I have shared with you,
every day when that door closes behind the daddy and the girl dog, the little
boy dog (he really is little, just over 2 pounds at age 5) begins to howl like
a wolf who has been abandoned on the great ice floe of life. I call the daily performance,
“the lament of the left-behind puppy.”
Now the girl dog doesn’t give a distinctive one-minute-long
performance. She just whines and cries and carries on constantly until the
daddy and that brother dog who stole him return.
The walking part of the exercise had become
increasingly difficult for David over these last few years, but he wanted to
give the dogs their time, which was his time, too. His first innovation was the
purchase of a cane that has a plastic seat as part of its structure. That
worked for a time, and the dogs didn’t seem to mind having to stop and wait
while their daddy sat and caught his breath. But he knew that wasn’t the
permanent solution. And so, after
careful consideration and sufficient thinking time about it, he made another adjustment.
David has now successfully trained the two dogs to
walk on leash while he rides his three-wheeled battery-operated scooter
beside/behind them.
They start off from here, one at a time, and the dog
rides until they are further into our area where there are fewer cars. Then he
sets them down and off they go together. The dogs love this because they get to
run.
The doggy-daddy loves this because he can spend time
with his pets and make them very happy without being the worse for wear.
Yes, adjustment to new ideas does take time. But when
done right, it is certainly worth the effort and the apprehension.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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