A Plethora of Plums, One Peach, and Other Marvels

There is something so satisfying about growing food for personal consumption. Subjecting oneself to the vagaries of "home farming" requires several acts of faith--that spring will come again, that the rain will fall and the sun will shine, that the pests and the birds and the vermin will leave enough to harvest for the human table, and that the cycle of life will go on.

I never lose my sense of wonder when my annual gardening hopes are rewarded with tangible signs of success.

A single peach (on a tree that was not supposed to bear fruit until 2010!) and my magic bean patch bring me joy:

And look at all those pears!

The peas, beaten down by the torrents of rain, are blooming:




Nature provides both the sublime and the annoying, as other signs of spring abound; yes, that's an American Dog Tick on Echo's fur:


Echo is on Frontline, so the ticks don't bother her at all--but she carries them into the house, where they must be found and destroyed before they jump onto us. (I am not on Frontline, and there's nothing pretty about scratching my head and finding a tick on my scalp!)