It is also the time of year when Mother Nature teaches me some humbling lessons. The Weedwacker is an excellent example of a Foolish Human Tool we use to fight against the Inevitable. I was happily wielding said Weedwacker this weekend to clean up Mother Nature's work when I accidentally nicked one of my precious fava bean adolescents.
The injury was as painful to me as if I cut my own flesh. I fought back tears and like any good Alaskan, got the duct tape out to make it all better.
Some might question this effort, but sometimes it feels better to put a bandaid on a hopeless boo-boo. I had so gently nicked the plant that it was still standing (barely), albeit critically wounded. I guess I was hoping that the duct-tape would encourage my fava bean friend to magically regenerate its xylem, make itself whole, and dutifully resume the transport of water!
I might as well have planted some magic fava beans, climbed up the stalk, and started laying golden eggs.
Mother Nature also threw me a curveball last night when I finally decided that it was time to nuke the lawn. The weed 'n' feed variety I use requires (1) 24 hours of dry weather, and (2) warm temperatures. Sunday demonstrated both, and Yahoo Weather promised no rain for the following day. As Mother Nature would have it, it is pouring today, and the rain is washing away my hard work before it had a chance to take effect. Even worse, the rain will have the effect of not killing the weeds but nevertheless feeding the fertilizer to their roots!
I may have unwittingly just created a Bionic Dandelion Patch.
Under these circumstances, it's hard not to throw in the trowel and just give up. It's as if someone sent Mother Nature a memo letting her know that I'll be gainfully unemployed in a matter of days, and of course, I would enjoy nothing more than spending all of my new free time mowing my dandelions-on-steroids yard! Had I tried not to interfere at all with the natural state of the world, maybe the memo would have slipped past Her desk unnoticed.
In fact, it may be true that the plants that are the most worthwhile in the garden are those which actually persist despite my efforts. It gives me no pride nor comfort to know that I may actually be the Anti-Gardener, but I can't help going back into the garden again and again. Unfortunately, there is no amount of duct-tape that will fix my dandelion lawn, physically or emotionally. Perhaps it would be best if I duct-taped my hands together so that they'll stay out of the garden or maybe I should duct-tape over my eyes so I can't see any dandelions.
I suppose it's some kind of human instinct to strive to feel something more than Inconsequential. I live in Alaska where nature is unparalleled; logic should counsel me to leave natural beauty to professionals like Mother Nature, but my mundane sense of identity as a homeowner motivates me to mimic her finest works (and fail miserably) in hopes of capturing some "beauty" in my own backyard.
But for every ten poor decisions made in the yard, Mother Nature occasionally lets me win one. This week: my first (and so far only) nasturtium bloom. What can I say? It's lovely.And I'll admit it: well worth the wait.
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