One Goal

The beans got put into the ground yesterday. After working a double and going south for Jackie's graduation the beans were floppy and leggy in their egg cartons. Rather than another guilt-laden drawn-out planting session I grabbed a pickaxe and made them a home just off the edge of the Christmas trees. I had to mow down 3' tall grass before I could chop away the top layer of turf. Surrounded by Christmas trees and with sweat dropping off my nose it felt a bit more like a homestead than kneeling in front of a raised bed. And it looked pretty rustic once it was done too. Not in a quaint downtown Portland kinda way, but in a I hope these things can get a purchase in the ground before critters eat them kinda way. Petty and Sonny came over as I was finishing planting the last bean plant. It was kinda cute watching them chirp around the fresh dirt. Cute until Sonny started Godzilla stomping all over the beans before stretching his neck out and delicately snapping the top off one of the healthier looking ones. Their chirps were a little more high-pitched as I waved shovels and rakes at them to scare them out of the newest little garden. But, they never stay gone for long. After I'd finished planting, I eased into the Adirondack chair on the porch. There was an instant feathery flurry and Petty was standing on the arm of the chair, scuttling up my arm onto my shoulder. He needs to live it up now because he's growing fast and won't fit on shoulders for long.