Life of a gardener

We have been blessed with more sunshine thus far in 2013 than I have seen in the whole of my life in the PacNorthwest.  Seriously, people, it's been sunny. And hot.

On May 10 2013 the temps were in the mid-90's, the ground was already parched and the sun shone on. Green thumbs across the county plopped tender veggie shoots in the raised beds and the sun still shone on.  For weeks straight we had crystal clear blue skies and life was great. Giddy gardeners raced to the nurseries for more goodies to fill empty plots.

Then worries of drought surfaced. Whispers of not enough water permeated the garden aisle at the local WalMarts. Gardeners here stared to fret.
 
Then the month of May decided to show up. For the last week we've had our usual gloomy gray skies. One week of torrential down pours has completely undone several weeks of garden work. The clay ground is sopping wet and untouchable. The seeds have done floated off. The sprouts, drowned, lay limp across the soil. Strawberries melt on their stems and slugs devour everything that remains. The petals of the Rhodies hang off the shrubs, brown and ugly.

Deciding how to proceed from here is what makes a Nor-Westerner unique. Do you slog out in you rain-gear with slug bait in hand? Do you gently replant the scores of seeds that floated off in the latest "shower"? Do you yank out the sad tomato sets because you know blight is inevitable? Do you hold out for sunny weather?

These are the questions I wrestle with often in my life as a gardener. Mostly I fail. Miserably. Sometimes I get it right. Often I find I missed my window. But. BUT. I am determined to do my best to provide a loverly space that provides my loved ones with food.

So, while I rework the garden plan and purchase more seeds, I wait  patiently for the weather to turn again.