On Monday afternoon, thinking that I was racing approaching stormclouds, I shot hooky from work, rushed through the garden center for more seeds, and sped home to get them in the ground before the rain came. The garden is now full of beans - well, bean seeds, at least - enough to end world hunger. Black beans, white beans, green beans, speckled beans, purple hull peas....
Nanny said she'd like lots of butterbeans, and she got 'em: six rows, 4 different varieties. She'll probably be cussing me, come picking time.
Just as I finished planting the last row of beans and was putting away the gardening tools, Pop-Pop said, "I just felt a drop of rain." There was still an unopened pack of cucumber seeds in my apron pocket. I hurried up the driveway to plant them in the empty rows in the new tomato patch. Dropping to my knees, I shaped the tilled soil into "hills" with my bare hands and poked the cucumber seeds into them as big, black rain clouds approached. A big raindrop hit me in the top of the head as I was making my way back to my house where, exhausted, I collapsed onto the couch and waited for Mother Nature to water the seeds.
Two days later, it still hasn't rained on this little corner of the world. Drive a few miles in any direction, and find puddles standing in ditches, but not here. As I write this, the weatherman is predicting scattered rainstorms all around, yet there are clear, bright skies over Bean City.
Pop-Pop says not to worry, that there's plenty moisture in the ground to bring the seeds up, even if it doesn't rain on us this time. Just in case, I bought miles of garden hose, enough to stretch from my house across the road to the tomato patch. I shall trust Pop-Pop's judgment for a few more days, then take matters into my own hands.
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