Honey, have you seen my machete?

It's been a while since I have weeded my vegetable garden... like maybe since the 4th of July? So, I set out yesterday morning to do just that. Holy crapola! I've neglected my garden before, but never like this! You know how the saying "the corn is high as an elephant's eye"?, well, lets just say that I had some weeds (lambsquarter, ragweed and something I don't even knowwhat) that are as tall as me (which by the way is 5" 2" on a good day)!

That's not to mention all the "volunteer" elm and maple trees that shot up since we started getting rain and some hot weather... I could have supplied a whole boy scout troop with Marshmallow toasting sticks with the nice switches I could pul out (cut down) in the herb section!

And speaking of volunteers, for the love of god, I wish I could get rid of my now-wild chives... It grows everywhere... in between the bricks of the path, in the lawn, it's take over a good portion of the I've pulled and I've yanked, I've cut and I've sworn at it... and yet, if I left the garden alone for a whole year, it would be nothing but garlic chives and raspberry canes.

My garden has been producing some great crops - green beans, tomatoes, snow peas, raspberries (2nd crop has now started!!), cucumbers, zuchinnis, lettuce, herbs, etc... but something amazing happens when you go out to the garden to pick stuff... you are so focused on finding all of the near gargantuan beans, you don't see the spanish bells, or the pig weed, growing right next to you! Well, maybe I see them, but with both my hands busy and full of bean/tomato/pea picking... how could I pull weeds?

So, each year in the middle of august, I schedule a mondo-weeding day. I am about two weeks late this year, due to actually having a life, having fun with my family, etc. etc... So, I am actually taking a day off of work to accomplish this mission.

What did I do yesterday then? I pulled the weeds next to the vegetable garden! Yes, I'm talking ragweed, nightshade, and some other noxious stuff that I needed to get out before it went to seed, or worse, took over the whole f'ing world! And yes, if I had a machete, I could have used it... but alas, I only had my hands and my trusty clippers, so it took a little longer and I never got into weeding inside the veggie garden...

Which leads me to my main point - the best part of gardening... while I love the idea of having a neat, tidy and perfect garden, I just don't think it will ever be true. And I'm not stressed about it, nor do I feel guilty for letting the weeds take over. It's my personal space, no one cares about it but me (and my vegetable loving family, although they never complain because they know I'll ask them to weed the damn thing!).

It's my one space that can be in control and out of control at the same time. I choose when to weed, when to water and when to harvest. I can't say that about any other facet of my life at this point.

So Wednesday, I choose to weed.