My ravaged summer.

I remember when I first started work on this seasons garden. I started late and never pre-planted my seeds indoors to be transplanted after the last spring frost date or whatever. Starting indoors is really hard for me for somehow no matter what, one or all three of my cats will figure out how to break into the closed off area I designated for seed starting and mow down the sprouts like fuzzy little lawn mowers. So I simply opt to direct sow.

After I turned the soil and prepared the beds to plant, this year I sowed a large plot of corn, eight tomato plants, four basil, beans, peas, cucumber and watermelon. over the next few weeks I weeded, watered and generally tended to my garden. Over time the weather grew hotter, sunnier, and the rains came. The weeds grew faster than life would allow me to get outside and took over a large portion of my garden. I lost all my peas and watermelon and only one cucumber plant survived. I managed to save the rest of the plants in my garden and for the next few weeks they thrived. Then the weather and life struck again.

A wind storm came whipping through and wrecked my corn crop entirely. As the storm ravaged my garden a tragic storm of spiraling emotion struck my darkening mind. Some strange wrath of love, unbearable, a pain and torment I had never felt before. It was a hot summer of love and as my heart was on fire, a fiery phoenix flew through me and far off, leaving only embers and ash in an empty soul. I'm still burning with the light and love though only a moment held. There is no healing a soul wound. The pain will never lesson, the memories never fade, the burns will turn to scars to torment the heart forever.

Yet, I carry on. I am a man, a father and take care of my shit no matter how I feel. The house will stand, my son will eat and I will breathe. And as life takes you through the storms we sow our love and harvest better days. And sometimes we are pleasantly surprised. In my situation after I cleaned out my toppled corn stalks and dead plants, I discovered perfectly grown and flourishing rutabaga plants that I had not planted this season. They had been growing perfectly in the space between the corn rows. I had saved one rutabaga plant from last season to save its seed and thought I had collected them all, I must of missed some.

"The Wound is the place where the light enters you." -Rumi