The old saying is true, "Death comes in threes." This month we lost Mom, then Scooter, and now my garden is gone.
Most of the middle of the USA was hit by a massive polar vortex of bitter arctic air that froze the nation. My area had 30-mile-an-hour wind gusts and temperatures between the lower 20s and zero degrees Fahrenheit for four days. The garden has endured low temperatures before but the high winds were too much. It was destroyed.
The death of a garden is obviously nothing in comparison to the loss of Mom and Scooter but it is compounded pain. It is like a sore thumb that keeps getting smashed. My heart keeps getting trampled.
The garden is a difficult loss for us since we eat from it daily and share it with others. Prices are rising and shortages are rapidly increasing in my area. Winter vegetables taste better in cold weather but more importantly, they are medicine for our health problems. It was a big disappointment.
Below is last year's garden at this exact same time. This is the amount of produce that I was striving to have as we move into the colder months of winter. This was the plan. This was my dream.
December 29, 2021
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December 29, 2021
My brother put life into perspective as we were sadly going through Mom's possessions at her assisted living apartment after she had passed. We had her room torn apart and were sorting her things into various piles to be donated. He said, we had been hit by a tornado and were digging through the rubble trying to salvage what we could; next, we needed to move on and rebuild. Life is one tornado right after the other.
His wisdom made sense. This year my family has experienced more tornados than we can count and they just keep coming.
When the weather clears, I will return to the garden to begin salvaging anything that might be edible. There are a few plants with tiny green leaves hidden under the damage that could grow a little if the weather improves.
Soon, it will be time to start seeds for spring. Rebuilding and planting time is ahead.
