This is when all the gardening pays off.  The beds are mostly full, or being filled in.  Veggies are being discovered and getting incorporated into meals.  Mystery flowers and squashes are taking over and starting to reveal their identities.  Trees I left alone are tree-ing.  Natives are filling out all the spaces.  Pollinators,  little critters, and birds are busily keeping the whole web functioning, despite human attempts to poison them and destroy their habitats.

But more fun than all that is when my son gets a chance to go outside and suddenly discover what’s new out there.  “We have black hollyhocks!”  And when he’s able to find plenty of photogenic flowers and plants right in his own yard to use in posts and articles, I feel like my work is worth it.  Plus being able to produce food at a time we have to tighten the budget is one of the few ways I can contribute.

I’m also enjoying the garden collaboration with E.  He is discovering and using the food I’m growing, while also growing his own, partly from all the leftover seeds I gave him.  He ran out of room in his garden for some of his seedlings, so I planted them in mine, in this case red chard and peppers.  Sometimes we’re just out there walking around talking shop, which is gratifying.  He’s learning the same way I did, trial-and-error, plus research, and maybe a little guidance sometimes.

On another front, I’ve been doing more driving and rides, but my eyes are really starting to fail me.   I can’t see the signs until it’s too late, so I end up either lost or almost getting in accidents, sometimes with Gkid passengers.  I can’t afford the routine cataract surgery I need, even though it’s mostly covered, because I’m still paying off dental bills.

I finally paid off my credit card dental charges, but had to postpone paying off Avdi for the rest of my medical debt.  There’s no money after I pay my bills each month.  Ironically, my credit score is the highest it’s ever been, for what that’s worth!  It all balances out somehow.