Neglect

We have sorely neglected our kitchen garden.

We’ve let volunteers and weeds go wild. Borage, tomatoes and lamb’s quarters threaten to choke out peppers, carrots, broccoli and brussels sprouts.

The kids go out almost daily and cut away at the infiltrators and I try to pull thistles out by the root when I think of it. But, like fighting the Japanese beetles, it feels a bit futile.

Just like every year, I start to feel forlorn about failing to get all the projects we wanted and planned to do done.

• We didn’t plan well enough to avoid the Japanese beetle takeover.
• We didn’t pull and/or transplant enough volunteers to prevent the kitchen garden from turning into a jungle.
• We didn’t take the time to learn more about pruning trees.

And then, just like every year, I look back at the projects we did manage to finish.

We planted 65+ trees.

We added posts and wires to the vineyard so the kiwi and grapes could continue their upward climb.

We built a new, bigger run for the 16 chickens we added to our homestead.

We transplanted sea berries and blackberries from the fedge to the vineyard.

We built a squash arch.

We built an herb spiral.

We discovered we had a rooster.

We fought Japanese beetles…and lost.

But, at least we tried and got a few…thousands.

After thinking of all the projects we did complete and all the goals we did meet, I feel kind of like a superhero, a rockstar…a successful homesteader.

Feeling blue and sad
All the failed plans we had
Until I stop and review
All the things we did do