I felt called upon to defend the place of gardening as a worthy endeavor when a syndicated humor columnist made cynical remarks about Michelle Obama and others who are gardening. To her credit, the columnist did respond to my polite email complaint. "It's only humor," she said. As I told Mike, at the rate newspapers are disappearing, she herself could be gardening for survival soon.
I am not a born gardener. In fact, if you were to ask me for 
gardening advice, I would have to refer you to someone else. Here in Clarkston, we have sandy soil and hot, dry summers. And I confess, I don't have a spade or a hoe at this place, so I made do with a rake and a wooden stick. But we're always hopeful of good results. The last few days were beautiful and warm – perfect for spring garden 
work. I made one last tour of the neighborhood for the natural stuff left by horses and then Mike tilled our garden plot.
When it comes to vintage stuff, Mike is sentimental over old engines, including outboard motors and lawnmowers. Probably 30 years ago my dad showed up at our house with his "old" tiller. Daddy was not a tinkerer, nor was he mechanically inclined. The old tiller wasn't working for him, so he bought a new one and told Mike he could have the old one if he could make it work. Mike was in automotive heaven. He fixed whatever was wrong and then we had a tiller for our small garden plot – something we would not have spent for in those days. A few years ago, the tiller appeared to die, so Mike put a new engine in it and we we
re in business once again. (These things are not without frustration for the poor guy, but he seems to come through.)
After tilling and raking our garden plot, we spread out the hoses for the drip system. Then we planted ten baby blue spruce trees – a temporary home for them while they gain some size. And I planted spinach, beets, and peas. (Have you priced seed lately? And a pack of seeds doesn't go as far as it used to either.) And something new this year – I tucked my iPod into my pocket and enjoyed selected podcasts, instead of the depressing country western fare. What luxury! KW
3 comments:
Kathy, I still remember wonderful tomatoes, lettuce, rhubarb and yellow squash from your garden 30 years ago. And Vance's sweet corn, with your family's process of all getting together to scrape the ears and freeze it in pints that we could eat through the winter.
Rhubarb upside down cake...mmmmmm!
The soil at that house was great! One of the previous owners had a farmer bring in a load of excellent topsoil. However, it was "infected" with morning glory, which was tough to fight. We did, however, have excellent production there. I just don't think anything is as important as good rich soil. I've never been successful at growing corn like my dad, even on the farm. If the deer don't get it, the wandering livestock will. Rhubarb? -- watch for a new post.
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