The tomatoes died last night.
There were only two gallon-sized plants, and I’d covered them securely, or so I thought. For the record, however, mini-greenhouses made of plastic garbage bags don’t work. When I looked out the window this morning, all I could see were the supporting sticks: the plants themselves had collapsed down into mush, all the way to the ground. Someone told me afterwards that old-timers wait to plant until they can’t see snow on Picuris Peak from town, but I had to have tomatoes. They’re still out there, dead naked, awaiting ritual second death at 17° F tonight. I thought I’d offer their corpses to the spring…
My mother called last week and broke a spell. I must have been ready for the testing. In the the course of cleaning up the clutter of some old tax documents (or so I thought), I came across a five-year-old letter from an empathy-free blood relation with a history of inflicting pain and felt demeaned all over again. Interesting. Just like the oil well disaster in the Gulf, dark matter pouring out in ever-expanding spiral doom!
It must have landed on my beaches. Peaking around cocktail hour, I was holding forth in agony, gesticulating madly (in all senses of the word), when all of a sudden a shout rang out:
“WATCH OUT!!! The GLASS!!!”
My waving arm been a millimeter away from my wife’s prized Venetian wineglass, filled with red. A delicate, fragile beauty, the last surviving piece of a treasured set from long ago when hearts were light, bodies limber, and life was full of unintelligible ease. We know it might come to grief someday, as all things do, but I was standing there completely blind in full-jerk mode, and almost broke it then and there. I was aghast: clear as day, I’d almost pulled this to me. (Feeling rotten? The Lord shall provide.)
Whew. Man oh man, did I ever almost just get killed.
But who’s REALLY killing the Gulf of Mexico with all that oil? Why did it freeze so hard here last night? How did we trade government for a banker mafia? Who’s supposed to figure out what?
Something’s gonna go, you know, and not just my tomatoes.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I highly recommend these frost protectors. We used them for many years while living in Alberta & found them perfect for getting a jump on the season. We no longer need such aids out here on the BC coast, thank goodness.
Ah yes, I’ve seen those! Would have made a difference, I’m sure. What’s the weather usually like on the coast? I’m considering emigration if I get my self-employment income up high enough!
Temperate, for the most part. Not usually too cold in the winter – rarely goes below freezing – occasional snow fall, depending on elevation & proximity to the mountains, usually soon washed away by more rain! Green throughout the year meaning one soon forgets the grey, overcast skies once the sun comes out. Usually sunny & dry for several weeks in mid-summer but never too hot due to the cool ocean breezes. Lots of blossoms & blooms most months of the year — mountains, ocean, fresh air & water. What’s not to love?