weeds.

busy busy!

school is winding down for the year. we go until the end of june, so we're finishing up some subjects and trying to get all the way through some others.

baseball is going well. the duke is getting better each year which makes it a lot of fun to watch. and surprise surprise there's actually a great little group of boys on the team AND some very cool parents! gasp! shock!

i've been out in the garden attempting yet again to transform a neglected garden and creeping weed patch into an oasis. oh who am i kidding, i'm just trying to get it to look presentable!

it's going well. digging sod out from rock borders is not my favorite, but there is satisfaction at the end when it's over.

and there is the curiousness that is my tulips. i finally planted tulips last spring. and then waited all winter for my beautiful batch of pale pink tulips to appear.

only they were a bold orange! go figure. i'm sure there's a metaphor in there somewhere.

i'm unearthing some plants from weed choked spots and hoping they'll take to their new digs. the lord of the ring is resurrecting our raspberries one weed choked cane at a time and hoping for a return to our days of home grown raspberries.

AND we've got a ton of strawberry plants from the few we planted last year. well, once we dig out the huge mat of weeds surrounding them.

notice a theme?

the thing about gardening is the thing about most things i don't do well. persistence, patience, constant vigilance. not my thing.

BUT every year i tell myself this is the year i DON'T drop the trowel half way through. that this year will be different. things will be planted AND taken care of. things will grow and bloom to their FULL POTENTIAL. and that no amount of weeds will deter me.

but that's the beauty in gardening, right? that i don't know shit about it, and yet each year presents potential. the opportunity to learn, to *grow* if you will.

besides, like a friend said recently, isn't gardening just a form of legalized gambling anyway? that even the most experienced gardeners are taking a chance each time they dig a hole or sow a seed?

that there are forces at work greater than any amount of knowledge one can posses about gardening.

we'll see. i remain as optimistic as *i* can.

which means, don't hold your breath.

new wine blog tonight.

turns out cheap wine month will be EXTENDED!!!

(until further notice in fact. thank you mr. bush)

the financial crisis hits home and it's a good thing this girl knows her cheap wine or else it would be a sad day at the weed patch.

x.