“Failure is not an option.” Who the hell said this? Who uttered these words only to have them etched into our psyches? I find myself ashamed when my project fails- or provides less than stellar results. Like a child who has broken something, I shove the evidence into some dark crevice and pray to the forces-that-be for no one to ever discover my ugly truth. Perhaps worse, sometimes I deny the failure- masking it in false optimism and a “laissez faire” attitude. But underneath the bravado my frail sense of self-confidence is shriveling- like the weak scrawny seedlings in my grow tent- the trigger for today’s rant.
The past 6 years or so I have successfully propagated my summer vegetable garden from seed grown indoors in a make-shift greenhouse. Each year I carefully measure out seeds, one at a time, into their allotted spot. Then I save the rest for the next planting. By peak season, a good 90% of my garden began as seeds.
This year it has failed. This year I will be buying a significant number of my garden plants. My frugality has finally become the tragic flaw in my homegrown garden. The basil sprung up within 18 hours! Seven days later one Squash surprised me. Soon to follow, one tomatillo and one Costoluto tomato. That leaves me with 55 empty cells. Cells whose soil is now covered in green moss because of the humid conditions under the plastic dome. If I had to guess- I would say that it was a lack of CONSTANT refrigeration of my seed this year. Usually all my leftover seeds live in a plastic shoebox in my refrigerator. But for one reason or another this year, I removed the shoebox for a few days at a time to make room in the fridge- multiple times.
And while I am angry at myself for the failure, I know that it is not the end of the world- or my garden. I simply have to swallow my pride this year and buy plants. So this year, “The Tomato Man’s Daughter” will get more of my money than usual.
Happy Belated Saint Patrick’s Day!
I had no intention of creating art for Saint Patrick’s Day. But while grocery shopping I spotted the purple shamrock and its geometry struck me. I happen to be taking an online class in vector illustration and this happy little pot of triangles seemed to beg to be the star. But is it? I really like the moth- which came about while studying the leaves of the shamrock and noticing how much they look like purple moths. And the whole experiment brought Charley Harper to mind. The rest they say is history- or in this case layers and layers in Adobe.
Next up…. a delightful underwater scene for a coloring book. The coloring book is part of a charity event to raise money and awareness for our ocean life. Be sure to check back soon, because I will be posting my entry here.
