Mr S Among the Tomato Plants

Every year we have the tomato cage ritual: bring the wire bundles out from beneath the house, separate the cages, put them around the plants, and stake them. Mulch around the base. There are 16 plants in that raised bed, 12 Early Girl, 2 Sungold cherries, and 2 German stripe. All of these are vetted for dry-farming, which means they don’t get watered once they’ve come up with a few flowers. Makes for sweeter fruit. So this year I sat in a chair and opened up the stacks of cages, Mr S at hand to pull them apart. We use wire mesh that’s about four feet high, and the plants will grow much higher; those cute little round tomato cages that come in designer colors would never work in this garden.  So we got one bundle done, five cages up. Still need to add the stakes. 

That was the most activity I had all day. My back is still tweaked and there really isn’t a comfortable way to sit. Muscle relaxants have a strange effect on me—they fog the brain without really relieving any pain, but at least I sleep. And sleep. And sleep some more. And somehow the day passes.

My friend sent me this quote from Becoming Wild, by Carl Safina. I havent seen the book yet, but I may have to find it.

“Beauty is the thing that makes life worth the time it takes, makes it worth the effort, the risk and frights that life requires. Beauty is the reward that our brains give us to make the effort to stay in the world. Beauty is what eases that effort into joy.”