Every night this week I've been up at my community garden planting the things I should have planted a month ago but couldn't because of the whole end of the world thing. When my garden was opened I figured, PHEW, everything will be back to normal now. And then I watched a frog climb up a fence and reassessed.
There's a lot of wildlife around my garden. Therefore there's a lot of wildlife in my garden. Fluffy, slimy, warted ... all wandering around, looking for places to hang out, maybe grab a beer.
Because of this I consider myself to be a bit of an expert on none of them. Other than knowing they exist, my knowledge of toads for example is this; they are toads. I just haven't given it a lot of thought. They're probably not much different than I am. We both like to be outside in the garden, appreciate a good meal and have warts.
But that's it. That's all I know about toads.
Actually that's not true, I also know that toads are shy and tend to stay hidden until you start swinging a massive, sharp hoe in their direction at which point they will swan dive in spectacular fashion, directly at your face.
Toads, as it turns out, are quite gymnastic so I shouldn't have been surprised to see one of them climbing a fence this week - but I was.
Also surprising ... seeing a painted turtle. It was just outside of my plot, which is an unusual site. When I got closer up to the turtle I could see it had dug a hole and was just sitting there. Half an hour later she was giving birth.
The turtle digs a hole and then buries her eggs to hide them from predators because like any mother her number one priority is to protect her children. And to remember to buy wine on the way home.
It was FASCINATING and there's video of it in my Instagram highlights.
Now, we're up to a fence climbing toad, an incredibly rare view of a turtle laying eggs so now it's time to add in the festival of snakes.
Scaryyyyyyy. Snakes! You don't want to be, you don't mean to be but there you are - afraid of snakes for no reason at all. I happen to like and get along with snakes, but not everyone does. Some people in fact kill snakes for no reason at all.
For those of you who are anti-snake I'm sorry but there is going to be another snake photo. I just thought I should warn you. I'm not sure why I didn't think of warning you before the first photo.
So this snake, which was one of several I found in the garden one night, has claimed my compost bin as its own. Compost bins are warm and protected which is exactly the kind of place snakes like to claim as their own. A safe, cozy home makes a snake happy.
So when I went to open up my compost bin to dig some out of the bottom I tapped on the bin with my foot a few times. You probably didn't realize that I speak snake, (nobody likes a bragger) but I do. Tapping your foot a few times is snake for "Hey. I'm here and I'm coming in, so you might wanna just slip out for a second."
He didn't care. Or she didn't care. I'm not sure which, but if I open the compost bin next week and find it littered with socks and take-out boxes I'll have my answer.
Most of this was all within half an hour of each other. It was like gardening in a low rent Floridian reptile theme park.
And the same night all this happened a neighbour told me she saw a coyote walking down the middle of the street at around 10 o'clock at night. This isn't in the country or even the suburbs, this is in the middle of a town. Things are not normal.
Thursday night was pretty quiet at the garden with just a constipated frog hanging around to keep me company. I could tell he was constipated. He had that look.
I got to plant my corn. I planted way too many varieties: Dakota Black popcorn, Glass Gem Corn, Peaches and Cream corn and Serendipity corn. I'll probably be lucky and have enough time for the sweet corns and the popcorn to mature, but I'm pushing it for the Glass Gem corn which takes a lot longer than the others to form.
Back at home the ranunculus I bought from Dahlia May Flower farm are blooming. Over and over again, I just keep cutting them off and putting them in the vase with the others. Ranunculus have an incredible vase life, lasting for a couple of weeks so you can just keep adding to it.
Also at home, I experimented with germinating regular old mustard seed that I had in my spice cupboard. This after a fellow gardener proclaimed he had finally thought of something exciting to grow (that I hadn't already grown.) MUSTARD.
When he told me about his idea, we looked at each other with pity, sorry for how stupid the other one was at never having thought of this before.
Of COURSE we should grow mustard!! So I'll be planting some black and brown mustard seeds this weekend.
These are the seeds from my spice drawer that I germinated in a damp paper towel. I ate a few and they're spicy! They taste like a radish if a radish unloaded a machine gun in your mouth.
Even with gun toting mustard seeds, fence climbing frogs, composting snakes and egg laying turtle, this next surprise was the biggest of the week.
What you're looking at is a Bells of Ireland plant, grown from seed. I knew they were doubling in size every few days so they were healthy, but Thursday night when I pulled back the leaves to have a look at the plant, I found the bells.
I wonder how long those bells were stuck back there just waiting to be seen.
Things definitely aren't normal this year. At all. This year we're actually comprehending that no matter how different we look we are all the same. In the important ways anyway.
We enjoy a garden, a good meal, a safe home and want to protect our kids. We are at times stunned at our own obliviousness.
We are all the same but we are not equal.
This year we are acknowledging that, feeling shame for that and trying to change that.
This year we are taking to the streets to change that.
Gary Boutin
Hi Karen,
love this share post, I am four month behind on my planting, just finished tilling, applying manure and lime to my garden plot. I was given the plot that had been unused for over 5 years. So now it's all nice soil and next week I am going to start to plant it. So far I have one cactus, artichoke, and watermelon to plant. The rest is up to me. I had a great time reading your blog, loved the fence frog, the turtle and the snake. Happy to see you planting. I must try corn too. I notice Karen you were planting and there was fabric that you had hole into my question is why the fabric, what is purpose? As for change we are having to deal with Covid so why not change the equality of our planet in the same year. I enjoyed each one of your post and I can't wait for the next one. Gary
CG
❤️🙂❤️
Juliana
I have failed at Rannaculus 4 years in a row. At least this year I have leaves?
Karen
Oh! Weird! How are you growing them? Are you doing all the prep you need to do beforehand? ~ karen!
margaret
I'm so glad to find I'm not the only one still planting things I should have planted a month ago. (Actually, I'm still working on getting the planter for planting them in up and running...).
I once grew Bells of Ireland, but concluded they weren't enough bang for my energy/space buck. I think I'm more into subtleties now, though!
I will envy you the egg-laying turtle forever; just reading about it gave me the thrill of maybe all Spring, and your photos are awesome. Hope you can report on baby turtles sometime...
But most of all, I'm awed at all the people taking to the streets to change things, and I do what I can too. I so hope you are right that the changes will come, and that it will be in time for my grandees, if not for me...
Maria Tocco
I so enjoy your posts. Thank you for sharing.
Teresa
yes! Change will come because we are bringing it! Best post yet.
Peggy
I looked and looked and I sure didn’t see any bells! As always, learning from you!
Ellen
It took me a while to see them too! Look again, they are the same color green as the leaves and run north-south along the stem.
Linda in Illinois
Karen you are real. Love you.
Linda
Your ability to make me laugh out loud and tear up in the same post is a testament to what an amazing writer you are! Love your blog, your sense of humor and insight. Thank you for writing what others may be hesitant to say.
Karen
Thank you Linda. ~ karen!
Mary
The leaders of the world need to be women....who have their own real gardens, dirty hands, snakes turtles,frogs and stained T shirts. There would be peace everywhere.
Karen
:) ~ karen!
Laura
So enjoy your posts!
Do you use the black landscape fabric over your entire garden, or just for the corn? Can it be used from year to year? I’d be so curious for a tutorial on that!
Karen
I bought it this spring for the entire garden but didn't have time to cut and burn it so I just did the corn. If you bring it in for the winter it can last years and years and years. ~ karen!
Laura
Thanks so much for your reply — and for all the fun, observation, introspection, and instruction you bring!!
Marlene
Thank you so much for this post, an arrow straight to my heart. Instead of the usual laughter you left me all weepy because I have a black grandbaby (the love of my life), a black husband and son in law. Every time I think of what they have been through or will go through just because of the amount of melatonin on their skin my heart aches for them. I'm praying for change, acceptance and inclusion, for a society that resembles the beautiful life in your city garden.
Karen
:) You're welcome. ~ karen!
Marilyn Majalca
Amen!
Kate Budacki
Let me add my very unoriginal comment to the others - best post ever!
Vikki
I enjoyed this post so much. I needed that.....we all need that.
Linda Simpson
Things definitely are not normal this year. I am sorry for all those who have lost their lives to a virus we know virtually nothing about, and all those who have suffered with it. I yearn for black lives to matter. I lost my father 4 days into this year, and my daughter had to have breast surgery. Through all of this, I have been so grateful and blessed to have a wonderful home and backyard to "hunker down" in. It appears to me that you, too, are looking at the wonders around you and savoring the blessings from them. Maybe we needed "not normal."
Jody
All the wildlife just shows what a healthy garden you have. Did someone inform the RBG about the turtle nesting site. I believe they want to know so they can protect the site from other widllife.
Larry W.
I agree with Christine and others - your best post yet. Keep them coming and thanks for putting into such eloquent words what most of us feel in our hearts.
Karin B Gately
Your best post yet. This has been a difficult year but if we understand the lessons that the universe is trying to teach us the years ahead could be so much better. Who wants to go back to the old "normal" when we can do so much better. Not me. Thanks for your always funny yet wonderfully insightful posts.
Jackie Reese
Wonderful and insightful thoughts. May we never forget what we’ve learned this year.