I finished my planting yesterday morning. Applause, please.
Thank you very much!
Actually, I finished planting the flowers and veggies I bought Friday. However, my new garden plot is still 2/3 empty, so when the ground’s dried out from last night’s rain, I’ve got to get more plants. I plan to visit The Tomato Man’s Daughter in Tulsa, and also to pick up some more cucumber plants (two of mine broke in the wind) and maybe, since I have so much room, some cantaloupes and more flowers.
Working outside is probably the best thing I can do for my muse. Whenever I get stuck on a plot point, I head for the lawn mower. If my characters aren’t doing what I want, it’s the chain saw. When I just need to get rid of a little tension and rejuvenate, digging/planting/weeding will do it. And on those occasions when I’m sick to death of the publishing biz, raking leaves will make me fall in love with it all over again. (So does 100-degree weather!)
The one thing I DON’T like about spring planting is the crowds. When I went to Riddles’ Friday morning for my plants, they were so busy that there was a guy directing traffic. When I made stops at WalMart, Atwoods, Home Depot and Lowe’s on Saturday, I had to park in the back of beyond and hike a mile or two to the garden center. People were in my way everywhere — all kinds of people except employees who could answer my questions, LOL.
(I always got a kick out of those Home Depot commercials where the people walk into the store and every department has bright, smiling, knowledgeable employees just waiting to help them. It seems like virtually every employee I find in Home Depot says the same thing: “This isn’t my department. I’m just filling in.” I only go there when I know exactly what I want and the only help I need is in carrying it. If I’ve got questions, I go to Lowe’s.)
But for the moment, I’m happy. My tomatoes, peppers and cukes are in the ground, along with my purslane, zinnias, marigolds, African daisies and other flowers whose pots lacked name tags but I bought them anyway. My nails are chipped, my knees are aching, and it took forever to get all the windblown grit out of my eyes, but I have planted, and that gives me a great sense of satisfaction.
Now, if only everything grows . . .