Sometimes It Gets a Little Depressing

[digitS']

I was just looking at another site:

Termites in the Potatoes?! Termites?!!

Leaf-footed bugs in a Florida tomato patch! The plants look like death . . .

Flooding, drought, mayhem!

When we look at a broad enuf piece of geography and in enuf backyards. There are ALL SORTS of ills that befall a gardener!

Steve

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

ok, those termites must not have enough wood to chew on! or they're looking for a varied diet! trying to shed a few pounds are we?! hehe

 

[digitS']

I have just been outdoors here. Whereas yesterday at this predawn moment, it was 46F with a 12mph wind .

Today, it is 53 with no wind . . .

Maybe it is best to get out and enjoy what we can enjoy, when we can enjoy it! I'll be back! (Think I may have to go back and do a little editing of that 1st post.)

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are ALL SORTS of ills that befall a gardener!

And all sorts of successes.

Sometimes it is not whether the glass is half full or half empty. Sometimes the glass is bigger than it has to be.

 

[digitS']

It is an absolutely lovely day here!

After I finish lunch, I'm heading back out. Yes, I often eat lunch at 9am . . It could be a 2nd breakfast but - couldn't get my veggies that way. Have you ever noticed that Americans don't eat vegetables, with the exception of potatoes, for breakfast??

Maybe rhubarb jam on toast would count as a vegetable . . . I know! Salsa in an omelet . . !

Steve

 

[vfem]

Sometimes if we do this to ourselves by adding more pesticides to a normally diverse gardening community of insects? Spraying to protect again one or another pest, the future of the plants we grow now leaving them more open to attack from other predators that never bothered with the plant before because natural predators of theirs were always around until now.

Makes me sad we're succumbing to our own impatient lazy attitude.... thinking we can out smart Mother Nature? Oh we're in for it now!

 

[lesa]

Now, Steve- you don't have enough bugs in your own backyard??? Don't start thinking about termites in potatoes, until they are in your potatoes!!

 

[Smiles Jr.]

I think I know what you mean, Steve. Since my two strokes it has become a LOT of work to keep the weeds, rain, sun, dry, bugs of all sorts, chickens, moles, deer, and now VOLES at bay. It's always worth the effort and I'll never quit but it does get discouraging at times. But I really do think that fatigue plays a big part in how we feel about our hobbies and pleasures. Sometimes I just go fishin' and don't care if I catch anything or not. It's nice to get away.

 

[digitS']

Well, we still know how to feed ourselves in North America. Maybe the continent isn't the agricultural exporting powerhouse it was 30 or 40 years ago, don't know but the number of people here has doubled during my lifetime.

I have 1 or 2 problems each year but most things turn out. I will never forget when the wee sweet meadow mice ate at least 1 bite out of my entire potato crop, save 1 tuber . . . and I remember the deer pulling off nearly all of my ripe & unripe tomatoes and dropping them in the paths. Then there were the marmots that girdled every single cabbage plant creating abstract, garden sculpture.

Problems are sometimes a little overwhelming in an internet community of gardeners but, as Ridgerunner says, our production is really to excess, collectively. I hope you all find something to enjoy in the garden this weekend and this month! And, share somethings with your neighbors and us TEG neighbors here.

Smiles, years ago my mom gave me a little framed quotation that hangs beside my backdoor. It says: "Fishing is the chance to wash one's soul with pure air. It brings meekness and inspiration, reduces our egotism, soothes our troubles and shames our wickedness. It is discipline in the equality of men - for all mean are equal before fish."

Steve