the party's over fellas!

It's two weeks since we planted our vegetable seedlings and the birds have gone totally crazy. They chewed down the lettuce within a few hours, and have steadily pecked away at the pumpkin and cucumber. The sweet corn is a little shredded but obviously isn't entirely to their liking as it has mostly survived. We sheep proofed the garden from the start, but today was the day for action to keep the birdies away.

Voila!

There will be no more munching on our vegies and soon we should have some big fat juicy green leaves shooting out everywhere.

Meanwhile the tatsoi and spring onions are starting to pop out of the soil... my pride and joy however are the asparagus shoots. Admittedly if I'd read about them before I planted the seeds I might not have gone ahead, but since I did my research after the fact I'm very excited to see them poking through. In a year or two we should be harvesting our own asparagus! Wow.

I find the whole vegetable patch thing quite incredible. When I dropped those little seeds in the not-so-good soil I wondered how anything could grow from them... leave alone produce fruit that will feed us. But there they are, sprouting and green with fresh life. All that potential in a tiny seed. It does something to my soul, confirming something read in my study this year:

Tending to plants, or merely being with plants, heals in various ways... Gardening brings people closer to the earth and makes them partners in bringing forth life from the soil. The physical tasks of gardening - weeding, pruning, and planting - reduce stress by dispelling tension, anger, and aggression through bodily activity. The joy and satisfaction that comes from being an active participant in the process of nature generates a sense of protectiveness toward the environment as well as a feeling of trust in nature's life force. Pierce 2003:233-234

Perfect antidote to the present trials... so move over birds, I am moving in for some horticultural therapy!