Order from Chaos

Tuesday dawned clear and dry and blessedly cool.  Thunderstorms are forecast for the rest of the week -- and house guests are forecast for the weekend -- so I took advantage of the fine weather to work in the garden. The corn needed thinning and hoeing; the cabbage and kale and broccoli, which were being ravaged by caterpillars, got sprayed with Bt; and the rest of the garden got hoed. 
 

Miss Susie Hutchins looked on in approval.

I came back in the late afternoon, after the box bed garden was in shadow to do more hoeing and weeding.

 And to pick some lettuce and herbs for our salad at supper.

Oops! I missed that Devil-in-the-Garden lurking in the lettuce. 

 But I was delighted to find some peppers just forming!

 

 And a bit puzzled by this enthusiastic volunteer -- pumpkin? Winter squash?

Time will tell.

There are even a few tomatoes! They kind of don't count since I bought it as a potted plant with small green fruit already on it. But still . . . pretty exciting!

 And by the end of the day I was stiff and sore and feeling rather aged -- but it feels so good to have the garden, momentarily at least, in some sort of order.

There's a theory that says that gardeners are trying to impose order on Nature's chaos -- mowing grass, pulling weeds, making things look just so. 

Could be . . .

There's another theory that says that people who read mysteries -- or crime fiction as they call it in the UK-- do so for the same reason -- to see order (Justice) prevail over chaos (Crime.)

Hmm . . . 

And speaking of mysteries -- no, I've not yet heard from Herself about the manuscript I sent her.  No news is good news . . . at least while I have so many things to get done around here!