Growing things.

Let's talk about my garden because it is a constant delight. I keep thinking the thrill is going to wear off, but every time we go outside Eleanor is like, LOOK HOW BIG OUR POTATO PLANTS ARE AND THAT TOMATO PLANT HAS SO MANY FLOWERS AND OUR CORNS ARE GETTING SOOOOOOOO TALLLLLLL. I swear, that girl's enthusiasm is what keeps me going some days.

I've been taking periodic pictures of Eleanor in the corn, obviously. Why else have children and also corn.

We planted corn because we have some extra dirtspace this year so I let Eleanor run wild with choosing stuff, and her taste in plants is very large. The corn, potatoes, and artichoke are all hers (the artichoke is definitely dying. I don't know what his problem is, but he's not happy).

We have the extra space because our landlord dragged in two huge planters last year, and I told him that if he filled them with dirt, I would fill them with plants. But I think he just went...somewhere...and found some dirt, and loaded it into his truck, because NOTHING is thriving in those beds. I planted cucumbers and melons and things, and when my parents got here a month later, they were zero bigger. So I used the extra energy afforded me by doing like no parenting for a week, and overhauled the beds, putting straight potting soil in where I wanted plants to be. Now we wait. Our neighborhood jackrabbit ate one of my melon plants. I hate that rabbit so much.

I would dig up the artichoke, but I'd have to find somewhere else to put the gargoyle.

Maybe the gargoyle is the problem. Eleanor loves him, though, because she has an extremely high tolerance for whimsy. 'Look how fancy our potato plant is.'

'Maybe the bugs were having a picnic.'

And then she is over the moon at this tiny, perfect cauliflower.

The cauliflower, broccoli, and brussels sprouts are all in Cruciferous City in front of the house. Melon World is almost certainly going tits up, but I have a watermelon planted in the corn, just in case. We have many much peas because we know we love them, and then some green beans because ugh, those are gross, but we're trying to come around. Edamame beans, corn, potatoes: all experiments going super well at this point. And then cucumbers planted in every nook, because last year my cucumbers all died mid-July and if the ones in the planters don't make it, I need back-up. And it's possible Tomato Row has gotten out of hand.

Eleven cherry tomato plants, just in case. Some tumblers, some sweet millions, a few yellow tomato plants with names like Jelly Bean or Yellow Pear. I have one currant tomato plant, they're supposed to be the smallest tomato IN THE WORLD. I bought the seeds online and planted, like, ten before I got one to sprout, and I have been coddling it like a baby. Both the girls love cherry tomatoes, and if we end up with too many, we can roast them down to almost nothing and spread them on toasts with goat cheese.

I spent last summer in such a haze. The only reason I got a garden put in at all is because my parents came and held my hand (and my baby). I could not stay on top of my shit, which is why I didn't replace the cucumbers when they died, and why I couldn't weed a thing (someone, probably my landlord, weeded my garden for me one day and they weeded up all my carrot seedlings and I didn't have the heart to re-plant). This year, I go out at least once a day with the girls to see how things are coming. Geneva crawls in the grass and pulls the heads off dandelions, Eleanor eats my herbs straight from the pot, and weeds up the weeds. All of this is satisfying in a way I can't begin to articulate.