Blame it on Bugs!

  Several years ago, I had to do something that was new to me.  While container gardening seems to be the rage with most folks, I was used to planting things in rows in the ground.  Growing up on the farm, we had never heard of planting things any other way.  Sure, Mom had a few potted plants that sat on the front porch but this new idea of boxed gardens had not even occurred to Pop.  In fact, I think he probably would have laughed at it and said it was not gardening at all.  But, as I said, I had to resort to this method of gardening and, for a while, it was good.  The whole idea was to keep the voles from tunneling under the rows and raising the garden well up off the ground did a good job at that and was also easier on my back.   It worked well...for a while.

  Earlier this spring, I noticed that the garden boxes were showing a bit of rot and knew that their time had come to an end.  I was hesitant to rebuild them as I am always trying to ease "one more season" out of things.  Well, that season did not happen.  Recently, Mark and I were poking seeds in one of the raised boxes when I noticed that it was listing to one side.  Hmmm. a nice shove righted the box but also produced a loud cracking sound.  Oh well, it could be worse, right?

  The "worse" came sooner than expected as, at that exact moment, dirt started pouring out the bottom of the boxes!  Two large holes dumped everything...soil and seeds...into a heap beneath the boxes!  Oops!  The boxes now resembled something from a Bugs Bunny Cartoon from long ago.  He used to raid gardens and pull carrots and cabbages from below ground and now my boxes had huge holes as if Bugs had been at work!  "One more season" was never met.  The boxes are demolished and I have no gardens at all!