I Brought Another Wheelbarrow Full Of Hay

I spread a nice thick layer of compost over the asparagus bed today. It still has the hay flakes down both sides so it !looks like a raised bed. Very cool. It's funny how we think of our plants growing up out of the ground as being made up of material from the ground, when in fact they are made of carbon from the air..

The kale is loving this warm fall and it's formed purple and green bushes, almost too pretty to pick, but The Cook has been putting apple cider vinegar on it after it's cooked and it tastes a bit exotic. She's putting apple cider vinegar on the Swiss chard also, so I'm having a difficult time telling them apart..

I brought another wheelbarrow full of hay into the garden and had to stop to figure out where to put it. Very cool. All the areas that need it are covered already, so now it's all bonus mulch. I've never had such an abundance because I wasted so much on the paths. Now I keep weedeating them down to the ground and it's like walking on the lawn. I'm stoked..

Gardening is so much easier now. I enjoy the garden more when I can walk through without feeling guilty for not having it manicured. I was ego attached to how it looked, which is a form of trying to impress people. Impressing people makes them feel less about what they have. I need to move away from that mindset because it's in the wrong direction from love..

I've just read that the county next to us has a rat problem this year, so it's not just us. Vector control spends the bulk of their budget on mosquito control and has little left for the rats. They will give you two free rat traps if you stop by. I'm tempted, but they are probably just oversized mouse traps. I could tell them their rats invaded my garden. Old people with time on their hands can be terribly annoying..

I look at the incredible mass of blackberry bushes I've allowed to grow around the outside of the garden and realize I've enabled the rats survival. The coyotes can't travel through the vines as rapidly as the rats so their habitat is conducive to procreation. The privacy the berry bushes provide is priceless, because an enclosed garden is more peaceful, so their benefit outweighs their disadvantage. I don't have the time or energy to cut them back. I should probably get another trap for the other side of the garden..

I got my peas planted yesterday. It was touch and go all day because the weather forecast is for rain, snow, and night time lows in the twenties. I kept thinking I should wait a week but by four o'clock I threw caution to the wind and planted. The package said sow six weeks before last frost so I was actually following instructions. They cost $1.89 for an 18' row so replanting can come out of petty cash. I wondered why it was so difficult to refrain from planting..

There is some fulfillment mechanism inherent in me that I don't understand. Am I creating? There is nothing significant about what I do, yet it feels like I have purpose when I do it. I've set the stage and put in motion a process that results in nourishment. I've given life to support life. It's like a power divine. I'm playing God..