Becoming a Man

That's how a woman described her life after  her husband died 5 years ago.

"All the things he did around the house I had to learn to do. I had to learn to clean the pool, run the rototiller. Fix the stuff  around the house my husband always repaired."

I know exactly what she's talking about!!  There were things my husband did that I didn't give a second thought to.

Like rototilling the garden.

My husband loved to garden.  He was particular about it too.  When we were first married, he didn't like the way I pulled weeds.  I wasn't thorough enough.  He asked me not to help him pull weeds in the garden.  He thought he had offended me.  Ha!  Not in the least.  I would sit and watch him pull the weeds.  When the harvest was ready, I'd go out and pick the produce of his labor.  It was that way for 28 years!

 The garden grew weeds this summer.  The energy just wasn't there.

I thought I would like to plant a winter garden.

I got in last month and pulled weeds.  Perhaps not as thorough as my husband would have been, but I did a decent job.  After pulling weeds, I rototilled. His old, man sized, rototiller was a hand-me-down from his father. He must have had that thing  at least 15 years.  There was no way I could have maneuvered that thing.  It broke down last year, and Barry couldn't get the parts  to repair it.  When visiting his father, he brought home a smaller hand-me-down rototiller.  He called it a piece of junk.  But it worked for me! I mixed the gasoline with the oil to the ratio it said, poured it in, and fired the rototiller up!  I was delighted!  I rototilled the garden. I then proceeded to to plant kale, mustard greens, collard greens, chard, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and  lettuce.

The other prepared bed will have carrots, beets, parsnips and rutabagas.  I  know  rutabagas are basically turnips, but my daughter said she loved the sound that word made. So instead of turnips there are rutabagas.

 Barry understood the therapeutic value of gardening, and I hope to learn that value also.

 I feel pretty good about my garden.  I'll keep you posted as to how it is growing.