from little seeds, fertile gardens grow...

it amuses me, and amazes me to a degree, that the need to see things grow has been, somewhat magically, passed down to my kids. last year c and c tried their hand at raising some peppers and other things. this year, k and k have a number of different vegetables growing; some tomatoes, cucumbers and other things that they're trying. planted in good soil, with waterering, the warmth of the sun and faith, from seeds little plants have sprung. and so it was, in my growing up years. at the beginning of the summer each year we planted a vegetable garden. usually we would plant green beans, black eyed peas, okra, a variety of squash, watermelon, cantaloupe (aka musk melons), corn, cucumbers and such. sometimes we planted peanuts and turnips. when you live on a farm you're dependent on nature's fickle ways to either bless or deny the rains needed to make a crop thus there is no guarantee just how much cash the cotton and grain sorghum crops might bring. a bountiful garden was often the difference between plenty to eat and not quite enough. as the garden began to bear it's gifts there was fresh fruits and vegetables on the table every day. good stuff i tell ya'. the garden usually bore more rewards than could possibly be consumed at the time. in view of that, preserving the excess was the means to an end. there was many a late summer evening spent on my granny mc's front porch snapping string beans and shelling black eyed peas. idle chatter and the comforting familiarity of family helped to pass the time as we worked toward a common end. putting away the garden's excess served to load dinner tables over the cold unproductive months of winter. those were the good old days, born of a simpler time and perhaps better left as a fond memory of days long gone. and i'm out.