145. The Pain and The Pleasure

One wheelbarrow, two wheelbarrows, three wheelbarrows, four.....

Five wheelbarrows, six wheelbarrows, seven wheelbarrows, more.

I'm too tired to attempt to carry on the rhyme.  Yesterday I weeded and deadheaded and edged and pushed that wheelbarrow up a steep grade more times than I'd care to remember. I started a new raised bed with all those weeds added to old hay and leaves and composted manure.  I turned over some soil, and I planted some arugula, zucchini, and summer squash seeds. The turning over of the soil, it is fast becoming an extinct activity, what with all my space, little by little, being covered in raised beds, each filled with gloriously lovely, productive and healthy, non-clay soil.  And although turning over the soil is one of my favorite things to do in the garden, I won't miss it a bit.  Does that make sense? 

Every inch of my body aches, and the vista of horsetail and other weeds in the flower gardens (though really, if it weren't for the horsetail infestation, the weeds wouldn't be so bad at all*) still reaches as far as I can see. 

But all of a sudden (and it's still only May) there is this:

Lunch.  It literally couldn't be any more fresh.  Organic, clean, raised by my own hands from seed to salad, so delicious and oh, so healthy.

It's worth every ache and every bead of sweat. 

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* When re-reading this, the song lyrics popped into my head:  "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all."  Heh.

Comments

[moiraeknittoo]

Mmmmmm! One day, I too will be able to do these things. Enjoy!

[Kristen]

You are one busy bee! I made myself an arugula-Emmenthaler quiche today. While my "garden" doesn't require nearly the sweat equity yours does, that arugula was worth all the fretting!

[jane]

Wonderful lunch. About those horse tails. I find they gravitate to soils with low ph and sometimes low fertility.

[Paula]

Mmmm. Looks very tasty.

[Carole]

Those radishes look sooooo good!

[margene]

You're enjoying yourself and the bounty this summer will be worth the hard work.

[Cathy-Cate]

Those radishes look like they should be in a seed catalog. And I don't even like radishes!

(The lettuce on the other hand, I very much like. Mmmm!)

[SUE]

oh, the radishes. I got permission to harvest myself some radishes from a friend's farm (she had sold out at the market) yesterday, and oh my goodness were they good. I'd almost forgotten what May tastes like....rhubarb and radishes. mmmmm....

[Roxie]

It's always better when you do it all yourself. Bravo!!

[Marcia Cooke]

You beat me on the radishes, but I bet I'll get tomatoes first! Maybe a bit of lettuce from the garden for dinner tonight....

[Cheryl S.]

Oh, you B____! My spinach isn't far enough along for eating yet. But I have plenty of borage everywhere for gin & tonics...

[Jennifer]

You are amazing! My body aches for you - but the reward is definitely worth it.

[marianne]

Mmmm, that lunch looks Mighty Fine!