Hungry Times Two

Knowing that mint will spread like fire when planted in the ground, I put two spearmint and peppermint plants in our front yard beds last fall. Gleefully, I didn't care at the time. I detest weeds in those beds and I love mint - especially a little brewed with my iced tea (a little sugar included, y'all know I am southern. Wouldn't be natural otherwise). But now the mint is coming in and mingling with my black eyed susans, and I worry that the spreading mint might choke the pretty flowers before they all bloom.  All my fault if it happens, I was warned and I went mint-mad! If anyone in Charlotte needs mint, Holla!  What are you getting into this weekend? 

I spent two days in the rain at a music festival this weekend. My new sandals received a special spring initiation with a solid dunking in gooey mud. My "waterproof" parka proved to be not so much. My husband tried to convince me that our camp chairs made excellent umbrellas. But I didn't care. While the downpours kept coming, I thought numerous times, "HELL YES. We just put in our summer garden." Something in me has changed. I no longer scowl when I see those first drops of rain on the car windshield, when the first rumble of thunder clatters off in the distance, or I see "Chance of Rain" in the newspaper. I think I'm really a gardener now, y'all. Part of it stems from sheer laziness. Last summer in early June, Scott and I played "Rock Paper Scissors" nearly every morning to see which loser had to haul over to our community garden plots for watering. (He actually prefers the alternate version "Cat Microwave Tinfoil...