Tend and Keep

If I had to write a three-point sermon about why August is wonderful, it would go like this: sunflowers, swimming, sweet corn.  In August, especially the beginning, summer feels like it will last forever; we all get complacent and think that fall will never come... ... but then, I spot the first aster blooms and a sprinkling of yellow leaves on the cottonwood tree, and responsibilities that were tiny on the horizon suddenly loom larger and then are here. The garden becomes a neglected jungle as we adjust to new priorities, and our dog gives us sad eyes as we pack up each morning for a day away from home. Time is regimented into strict daily and weekly rhythms instead of the day-by-day flow we had enjoyed. The transition is not easy. We are tired. In the spring, our life seems to explode outwards as the weather warms. We spend more time outside and pick up projects that we had left behind or dreamed of all winter. During the summer, we roam and explore and work and play in an even w...

I paused in my battle with the weeds, stood up slowly, and critically surveyed the jungle that my vegetable garden has become over the last few weeks, and had the thought that all gardeners have at some point in the year: Is it worth it? I mean, I could just go to the store and buy food instead of attempting to grow it, and I almost certainly wouldn't be out much, money-wise...  and I wouldn't have sweat dripping off my nose as I practically stand on my head while searching for ripe tomatoes, trying to get to them before the chickens do. Is it worth it? In economics, we say that worth = benefit - cost . So the question I was really asking, standing in the garden, is this: is the benefit of growing my own tomatoes greater than the cost? If we are considering factors beyond monetary value, and I think that is a good thing to do, then we can list many things on the benefit side of this equation, including, of course, the superior taste and quality of a home-grown tomato compared t...