Victory Gardener

O.K. So, Katie knows it may seem silly to most some but... she is on a gardener's high unlike any experienced thus far in her gardening career.

Take a little stroll through time, if you will.

2000: Katie plants first garden of her adult life.  Blue Jays devour the lettuce seeds Katie lovingly plants in the plot of dirt loaned to her by her beloved friend Ona. Katie replants seeds.  Birds devour seeds. Katie gives up and goes to the  local Farmer's Market for produce.

2001: Not having a plot to plant in, Katie gains permission to garden in her mother-in-law's famous raised beds. Katie plants  lettuce seeds. Seeds sprout and flourish. Rotten neighborhood dog, wallows in Katie's allotted garden bed. Katie cries, then goes the local Farmer's Market  for produce.

2002: Katie, being in possession of her own garden plot but heavy with child, gives up gardening all together, choosing instead to frequent the local Farmer's Market.

2003: Having blown out her knee three days after giving birth the year prior, Katie, still in a knee brace, hobbles around in an ungraceful manner and is thus, unable to garden. Katie sends her loving husband to the local Farmer's Market for produce.

2004: Katie decides that one more baby is in order before she gets any older and is too busy nursing and changing diapers to tend a garden.  Katie and clan venture out to the local Farmer's Market for produce and brief moments of sanity quiet while the baby naps in stroller.

2005: Katie and loving husband decide its high time to move to the country.  After purchasing a small acreage barely off the beaten path and being totally overwhelmed while all that entails, Katie and family seek out a new, not so local Farmer's Market.

2006: Katie plants first garden in her new rurban plot of ground.  Local area experiences drought. Katie weeps over her crispy lettuce leaves and goes to Safeway for lettuce imported from China.

2007: Katie and family move to a beloved neighbouring community.  In a plot that once housed pigs, Katie plants the biggest garden of her life!! Beloved neighbouring community experiences first heat wave in years and Katie's lettuces bolt with only 4 leaves to a plant. Katie decides its time to try the Atkin's Diet and gives up on vegetables.

2008: Unable to purchase home in beloved neighbouring community, Katie and family move back to their small acreage barely off the beaten path, consoling themselves with produce from the local Farmer's Market.

2009-2010: Katie dubs these the years of the Filthy Slug/Stupid Snail/Rotten Dog/Freaking Blue Jay/Bloody Crows/Cussed Late Blight/Stupid-Freaking-Bloodyrotten-Cussed Chickens. Katie weeps in her coffee over lost lettuces, squash, melons, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers. Katie threatens chickens, dogs, birds and baits the snails and slugs with beer.  Loving husband wonders at the cost of seeds/seedlings and beer for slugs and threatens to shut down the garden altogether. Katie rushes to the not-so-local Farmer's Market for home brewed beer veggies. Katie tells hubby she grew them herself.

2011: After eight straight months of rain, Katie plants her beloved garden. Katie tends and frets. Katie amends and lovingly applies fish fertilizer by the gallons. Katie is rewarded, for the first time ever, with a harvest. Katie weeps tears of joy in her morning coffee. Katie does a little jig. Or six  And squeals with glee.

Katie will not be seeking out produce from her local Farmer's Market this summer.  She will be enjoying the fruits greens of her labour fresh from the garden.