When changes come around, you take a look around you and start taking it all in. Some of you have been past my house a time or two, and you may remember the 40+ pine trees on our property. No more! They would be gone! Lumber for a new house, pulp for paper, who knows, but they are not in my yard anymore. They have been replaced with sunshine! Sunny, hot Georgia is not one of those states that's really prepared for extreme winters. It is the sunny South after all, and not the snow belt. For years, we've held our breath and prayed every time it was windy or stormed. This year, we got clobbered. Snow is pretty but not when it's combined with ice and freezing rain. We don't do too well with that down here. After two winter storms within 2 weeks of each other and icy limbs laying on our roof, we knew it was time for those pine trees to take a hike. It wasn't hard at all to make the decision that they had to go. Most of them were infected with beetles and it was a matter of time before one fell on the house. It was us, or the trees. We won.
Ten days of whirring chain saws, grown men shimmying up trees like monkeys, brush and scrub piled 8' high all around the yard, AND SEVEN logging trucks filled to capacity, gave us a bright sunny yard. Just one note, though, when you have men in trees with chain saws, they don't necessarily like to go up and down until they absolutely have to. So if you hear "I gotta pee" coming from about 60 feet up in a tree, trust me, duck and cover!
Soooo, sunny yard and things growing like crazy, Brainiac here, decided "I'm going to plant a garden this year", and I did. That was the beginning of Squashzilla!
My insistence got my garden tilled, raked, weeded and then all done again, until I had this perfect little garden patch about 10' x 18'. One would think, just the right size for a few plants for 3 or 4 people. Nope, I don't do anything small scale and simple. Small and simple is now 5 gardens and squash is taking over my world!
Each of those tall, lanky pines was growing in a bed that had been cultivated and mulched for years. Rich, rich dark soil resulted. My little wheels started spinning and in my mind, I began to see each of those pine tree beds, now home to some huge stumps, as flourishing gardens. My poor husband just shakes his head. "One garden is enough!" Yes, but 4, 5, 8, well that's even better. Nine rows of raised beds, neat and tidy now, made up my first garden. The pine tree stump beds are the other 4. What started with 6 tomato plants, 1 cucumber plant, a couple of pepper plants and a whole lot of seeds has expanded just a little. I couldn't walk through the hardware store without buying more seeds. Those seeds in raised beds ALL germinated. Figured I would end up with about 4 squash plants. Uh, no. I have over 20. Didn't plan on that! I was so excited about the success of the seeds, that I didn't have the heart to pull up any of the plants, so they stayed put and they have grown and grown and grown. Squash has taken on a life of its own. So has everything else. Needless to say, I will be supplying the county with beans, 4 kinds of squash, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, melons, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, corn and herbs. My 1 cute little garden, now at 5 definitely keeps me busy daily pulling weeds. I have planted just about everything but the kitchen sink and if I could figure out how to plant that, it would be out there, too! I'm quite proud that most of what I planted, I started from seed. I've marveled at the miracle of tiny seeds, no bigger than a speck of dirt, sprouting, growing, and producing such wonderful things that can sustain. Only God could do that!
Graph paper charts, Google searches, ruined manicures and poison ivy have been part of my life for the last 7 weeks. I've posted pictures of my thriving plants just like they were children and my pride and joy. My new nickname is Farmer Kaye and I'm seriously considering getting a pair of overalls and wellies. I think they would come in handy.
I'm up early and when my better half leaves for the office, you will find me in my gardens, dressed in old khakis and shirt, white socks, crocs and my Daddy's straw hat. You may even hear me singing "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" or something totally unrelated like "The Crawdad Song". Stand clear, because weeds will be flying over my shoulder. Not promising that I sound like a songbird, but I sure am happy while I'm pulling those weeds. I talk to my Daddy, I talk to God and after everything in the garden gets some encouraging words, I find myself dirty and tired, fulfilled and very, very happy. My gardens are my happy places and I'm having a blast, though I readily admit, I might be a little out of control and most definitely up to my ears in yellow crookneck squash!
"shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it."
Just substitute squash for shrimp!
I'm so excited - just think, fall garden, next year's spring garden...oh, I've got it bad don't I? Squash anyone?
K
Love you, Daddy...another talk in the garden tomorrow.
