Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Wednesday Wit and Wisdom



If you would like to join, post a photo and write a story around it. 

Such fun! Here's my  true story......

When You Plant a Garden, You Feed The World


One of the reasons Hubby and I moved out to the country was the dream of having our very own garden. We had visions of sun ripened tomatoes, crisp, juicy apples from our very own trees, and blueberry pie with just picked berries.
The first thing we did was hire someone with a tractor to till the ground. Mind you, this was ground that had probably never been turned over since the ice age glaciers came through. But, like I said, we had a vision. Who knew that many rocks lurked beneath the seemingly lush landscape? But being young and naive, we soldiered on, lugging bucket after bucket of rocks to the edge. We did make quite an impressive stone wall, though.
After a few weeks of hard labor, we were ready to plant. We were confident that we would have fresh salads and home canned tomato sauce, corn on the cob and Halloween pumpkins, all organically grown and full of life giving nutrients.
Yea, life giving all right; for every form of wildlife, big and small. It was as if we set the table and put out a call to every insect, critter, and bird to come and feast. We wanted to go organic, so we fertilized with fish fertilizer and bone meal. If there were two things on earth that attracted raccoons any faster, those would be it. As the little masked burglars searched the ground for this delectable new ‘treat’ of dead fish and bones, they uprooted everything in their quest, leaving the ground looking as if a miniature tornado came through.
As the remaining plant survivors grew to knee height, this attracted a taller patron to the feast; deer. It didn’t matter that we had two deer chasing hounds, a tall fence bordered by electric wire and whenever we saw them meandering through the garden, we ran towards them like deranged clowns, clanging our pot lids together. The deer would simply hop over the fence and wait until we left, calmly staring at us while chewing their cud.
When we turned over the earth after eons of quiet slumber, the weed seeds sprouted with new found vigor. Of course, these were not nearly as tasty and grew undisturbed by our new-found patrons. We couldn’t keep up and noticed that once they grew and flowered, they were actually quite pretty. One person’s weed is another person’s wildflower, I always say.
Apple trees were a favorite treat, not only for deer, but for hungry bears. The blueberry bushes hosted whole flocks of small singing birds, thanking us for the bounty. Soon the landscape became more like a fortress, with netting, fences within fences, and frantically running humans and dogs.  We had fleeting, evil thoughts of bearskin rugs, deer steaks, coonskin caps, and roasted wild pigeon.
Eventually we harvested a small basket of stunted gourds, a few dried beans the birds didn’t find, and three tiny pumpkins that somehow survived the cold, wet summer. Never in our wildest dreams did we think our biggest harvest would be rocks.

Hubby and I decided that farmers we were not, and down came the netting, the fences within the fences, the pot lids were put away and the dogs left to laze out their days on the front porch.  We became naturalists, leaving the berries and fruit for the wildlife and shopping for our fresh grown produce at the local Farmer’s Markets.  Now everyone is happy, we ‘garden’ in pots on the deck and nobody need know that the beautiful purple, pink, yellow and blue flowers are wild, planted by nature, and resistant to pests except for us, who leisurely stroll along picking bouquets for our own enjoyment, while the deer and raccoons curiously look on. 


I hope you enjoyed my (true) story today, 
Today I am linking with:

Wednesday Wit and Wisdom



Won't you join the fun? 

23 comments:

  1. Such a great story, the title tells it all you certainly fed the world.

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  3. What a great essay! I really enjoyed reading this, while chuckling along. My husband loves his organic garden, all the while sharing with the critters and shaking his head.

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  4. Just love this Karen! And it sure sounds like you found the perfect compromise. Lol! I know what you mean about those pesky - but beautiful critters. Good to find the balance and we can all share together. ;)
    Blessings. xoxo

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  5. Oh, my, Karen, you made me laugh out loud at the image of you chasing deer clanging pot lids together! A delightful story.

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  6. It might not have turned out in the way you imagined, but it is good that you tried and found out what does work for you! Your gardening on the deck, with your pots and your other plants and shrubs as a backdrop looks beautiful to me! xx

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  7. Dear Karen
    You're a natural story teller - I really enjoyed reading your post.
    Nature sometimes is stronger than we are and the natural order of things prevails.
    I have a wonderfully vivid picture of the two of you rushing about like banshee indians banging pot lids, waving arms and screaming!

    Just by chance do you have some Irish blood running in your veins - that would explain a lot!!!
    Shane x

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  8. Hello, I enjoyed your story. I had to laugh over the harvesting rocks comment. We have the same thing happening here, the deer, raccoons and other wildlife take over and eat everything in sight. Thanks for sharing, have a happy day!

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  9. I enjoyed your wisdom too! It sure is hard to get past all the critters and pests when you garden. Happy Spring! Hugs, Diane

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  10. We are all learning that lesson and have more respect for farmers, after the event.
    Merle............

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  11. Well, live and learn. I enjoyed your honesty and do hope you have a wonderful out-door market close by. :) We will plant a small garden this year even though we have plenty of racoons, bunnies and birds about. We may have to fence it on all four sides, though. lol

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  12. Your story made me smile but at least you tried, hard! I have thought of doing something similar but we would probably be fighting the squirrels, deer, birds, raccoon, all those rascally beautiful animals. I can't tell you how many birdfeeders have gone missing around here :)

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  13. Dearest Karen,
    Oh my, that's about our story too!
    Both being son and daughter of a professional market gardener, we had to have our own vegetable garden and lots of fruit trees.
    Like you mentioned, it only attracts all sorts of critters and they come out EARLY in the day... We had blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries... But pruning and weeding them one day I came back inside, bleeding on my legs like I'd been torture-whipped. That was from the berry patch! I told Pieter, let's rip it all out and just forget about this ongoing battle. We buy our berries at Costco or locally when in season; that's it.
    Vegetables was the very same and we too never liked the idea for using lots of chemicals in order to salvage some of your crops. Fruits was nearly impossible to grow the natural way without spraying... Our Japanese persimmons were the drop that let the bucket overflow. Raccoons had been eating them one by one; so Pieter thought he was smarter. He had put plastic bags around each tiny fruit and tied them around so they were protected. One morning we got up and the neighborhood was spread with chewed off plastic bags and premature persimmons... So Pieter did wack that tree down. We live a much calmer life without veggies and fruits I must say! Yes, you do attract wildlife and they feast on it; never the humans that grew them with blood, sweat and tears... and money!
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  14. Hi dear Karen !! Espero que tenga un buen día
    Cariños

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  15. I loved reading your story, Karen! You have a real way with words and I was enthralled with your adventure with farming. I keep trying to garden, but we have another issue...shade. Thank you for sharing your story!

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  16. Dear Karen,

    Lovely story and it sounds a lot like our plan for growing our own vegetables in our garden. Firstly the soil was terrible and clay like and then the other issue the lack of water over the summer months. It was just too hard and easier for us to go to the food markets to buy our fruit and vegetables. Country life must be wonderful, you have a gorgeous place. Enjoy your day
    hugs
    Carolyn

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  17. Oh, I didn't realize the wild critters would mess with a garden, but I guess they have to eat too! I enjoyed your story, Karen. And I loved what you said about one person’s weed is another person’s wildflower. It reminded me of the post that I did for tomorrow showing some wildflowers. I'm one who thinks that the weeds ARE flowers hahaha.

    Happy St. Patrick's Day, my wonderful friend.

    ~Sheri

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  18. You have such a beautiful property with so much wildlife. I hope that is a good trade off for you guys! We can grow almost anything but sweet corn. The raccoons get it every time!

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  19. It's a beautifully written story you have shared with us today, Karen. Years ago we planted fruit trees in our backyard in Moses Lake. My husband took such care with them, pruning and spraying them. Until one night the beaver came from the lake and cut off the top of the peach tree. He came the next night too and got another tree until there were none left. Funny thing is he didn't touch the neighbors ugly, poorly trimmed fruit trees. He left them alone! Have a great evening. Hugs Pat

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  20. Dear Karen, thank you for sharing this true story with us !
    Wishign you a wonderful rest of rthe week, my dear friend, sending Love and hugs and blessings!
    Claudia xo

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  21. Gosh I loved reading this story. It did make me chuckle. So many hungry critters you have to contend with!
    Have a great Thursday :)

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  22. Well look at you Guys feeding the (animal) world and harvesting rocks, oh boy it's a tough life and you have to laugh!! Absolutely gorgeous post - loved it Karen!
    Wren x

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  23. awwww such a great story and a little heart wrenching too!!! i love my garden, in it's entirety, it is on my deck, in pots. i find it to be so much more "fun" this way. it is more manageable, has less weeds and requires less work and water. we grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes and carrots. of course, i have flower gardens as well.

    no deer here, but what a trade off, i would love to see them right here, in my yard!!!

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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