Leveraging Learning

In my non-quarantine existence, I love and appreciate my garden, but rarely have time to do all that it needs. I pull the noticeable weeds, I mow over the leaves in the fall and I plant the vegetables that I like, not necessarily the ones that I need. The word "half-assed" comes to mind. Now that I am home all the time, I have plenty of time to focus on long-neglected corners of the garden. I am pretty sure that the trash men hate all the extra waste I have generated pruning and weeding. But throwing myself into the work has helped to mitigate anxiety and make me feel useful. I've planted tons of lettuce (get ready, neighbors), measured the peas daily and beefed up the composter. I even planted some pansies, because pandemic or no, we're having flowers, dammit. None of these tasks has brought me more pleasure than pulling the weeds. Weeds are a thing. Knowing that they are a fact of life has given me an appreciation for them and working hard to remove them has