Spring in the Burbs
Posted
Thu, 04/10/03
Wilbert has been looking forward to spring for six months. While we had a fairly mild winter, Wilbert loves the feel of spring, the birds returning and the green buds sprouting from our trees. However, I'm not a lover of mild weather, or the sun, especially the heat. Give me a nice, cool misty place and I'm quite content (Ireland or Scotland, perhaps?). I suppose opposites do attract: Wilbert has the "Latin" blood, while I possess the Irish bent of pale skin and a preference for keeping it that way.
In any event, Wilbert has already planned what he wants to do with our back yard this year. My parents are coming for a visit at the end of May, and before that time he wants to have a fence at least started, and some vegetables planted. The other day he brought home ten packets of seeds, including carrots, lettuce, spinach, squash, tomato, pepper, onion, sweet corn and broccoli. I'm sure we'll add zucchini and peas to the mix before we're done.
The only problem remains the fenceless back yard. I wouldn't mind so much if we didn't live in a suburban neighborhood, but as it stands a few of our neighbors are (how shall I put this delicately?) complete jackasses. I wouldn't put it past a few of them to see us hard at work on planting seeds, and turning around the next day to find all of our hard work dug up and tossed aside. Sad, but true. This not only applies to the adult neighbors, but the children as well (monkey see, monkey do).
It's a crying shame because our property consists of one lot, plus half of another one. Because of the idiocy of certain people, growing an extensive garden without the fence is pointless. I think all we can hope for are a few patches of lettuce and carrots, which perhaps won't be as noticeable to the naked eye. Besides, growing tomatoes from the seed takes too long. Maybe we'll live dangerously and get a tomato plant and situate it against the house.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed when my fiction novels (and the Food Fare Cookbook) hit bookshelves, they make just enough so we can spirit away to the country and have a proper garden. Not to mention a peaceful expanse just large enough to eliminate the necessary evil of neighbors close at hand.
Tags: Gardening
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