By eight thirty this morning the tiller, rakes, small garden tools, gloves, fertilizer, seeds, and tomato plants crowded the back of the van. Our limited experience with gardening drove off for number two daughter's place in New Hampshire. They wanted to start a garden and we wanted to encourage them. Earlier this spring David read an article in Countryside Magazine about one gardener's Mantis tiller. Impressed with his praise and the price, we bought one. The writer was absolutely right. This tiny tiller can even pull rock!! David tilled, Janis raked rocks out of the tilled bed, the little girls and I loaded the stones into a wagon, pulled them to the designated spot and... Ready... Set... Dump.
"Well, Janis, guess you have new respect for farmers."
"I have great respect for farmers. That's why I go to the grocery store."
The tomato plants ended up in a different part of the yard but the soil, no, dirt, no, ground was water repellent! When I dug a hole, a little hand with a toy watering can filled it up. That hole held water like a pail! We waited and waited but nothing. Finally four tomato plants were sacrificed so their potting soil could be harvested and dumped into the three pails, I mean holes, where we planted the three sturdiest looking tomatoes. We'll see what happens.
Oh, by the way, we forgot our gardening hats. Don't ever forget your gardening hat. For twenty minutes I had two little girls on my lap arguing over who should hold the ice pack on Nana's left eye. The black flies preferred my left eye only. Don't ask me why.
LESSON: I'm sure there's a lesson here somewhere but my bath water is ready and I really, really need it now, right now.
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