Prattling

Although we got a whole inch of rainfall one day last week, our ground is so dry that no appreciable amount ever made it into our pond.

As I've mentioned, the pond's water comes from the hills behind our place. Water flows into a ditch, through a culvert and into the pond. One would think that an inch would be enough to saturate the ground and provide run-off to the pond but apparently not so.

Some of the plants in the garden have perked up with the recent much needed moisture. The beet greens pictured above are no long lying almost flat on the soil.

But the garden in general is still showing signs of being on its last legs. I planted the seeds for this Osaka Purple Mustard in between my rows of dill because aphids love dill, and the purple mustard tends to keep the aphids at bay. Now the mustard plants are saying, "I'm done. I'm spent. I've had it. Yank me out by my roots and take me to my final resting place in the compost heap."

I went out first thing this morning to do some harvesting in the garden. I came back in an hour later pooped and wondering why I've been feeling so exhausted lately. Okay, we all know gardening is physically taxing, but lately I don't seem to have the oompf I usually do. Hubby and I talked about it and he confessed he's been experiencing the same symptoms.

I'm pretty sure we've come to the root of the problem. Emotional stress can take the starch right out of ya in a way physical stress doesn't. I'm not complaining because I know so many folks these days are struggling through situations much, much, much more challenging than ours. I just think I need to be aware of my emotional well-being and take steps to handle it better. (Ho-ho-ho. Ya-sure-you-betcha. Just being aware of stress and saying you're going to handle it better takes care of the situation, right?)

I exhibit stress by clenching my jaw and cultivating a tight lower back. Yesterday I got up from the kitchen table and went a few steps before being able to straighten up. Hubby said, "Your back is bothering you that much?" "No," I cheerfully retorted. "I just think it's attractive to walk like Quasimodo."

Probably structuring my life so I get more sleep would be a good start. The body needs time to repair and rejuvenate from the emotional kind of stress as much as the physical.

For the last couple of hours before getting up this morning, I was dreaming my mother (who passed away 13 years ago and with whom I haven't lived for 47 years!) was repeatedly coming into the bedroom and trying to get me to wake up and get out of bed. I was BEGGING her to let me sleep saying I just couldn't get up yet.

Throw into the whole mix the fact that I've been making all kinds of dumb mistakes lately. Kind of as if I'm just not operating on all four cyclinders and most certainly not thinking clearly. (I can hear those of you who have been around me recently saying, "Hmmm, I just assumed she was hitting the spiked lemonade a bit much.") I'm thinking a better explanation is that I've just been pushing myself and not coming up with any way of slowing down or taking time off.

The technological advances we have available today are supposed to make our lives easier. But at the same time, we live with such an abundance of choices that life is no longer simple by any stretch of the imagination. How to structure one's life so one isn't flailing off in six directions at once with an unsettled mind. How I wish I could follow old H. D. Thoreau's command of "Simplify, simplify."

Hrumpf. Ain't so easy with all the complexities we are forced to deal with in this day and age.