Through the Ashes

Last week was tough.  The last few weeks haven't been cake but last week was tough.  I struggled all week for something positive to write about and just couldn't find it.  There is nothing easy about destroying something you've worked so hard for before it (literally) comes to fruition.

I may have watched far too much Game of Thrones lately but part of me feels like we've been at war and my gardens are simply a battleground.  There is no doubt we have lost several of the battles, and I rarely go out defenseless anymore.  Yet through our ashes something still stands....(although I can't guarantee it doesn't have a blister beetle on top of it).

We are throwing every bit of effort into saving the last four rows of tomatoes we have left.  In order to do so, we have had to destroy and remove over half of the crops in the middle field that were so heavily infested.  With those plants gone it is starting to feel like we are not just chasing our tails trying to keep up with the blister beetles.

I really feel like a true breakthrough came this morning though in the form of reinforcements.  A family friend quite literally saved my week by showing up at 6:30 this morning with her three kids to help pick cherry tomatoes.  A task that was fixing to take me easily six hours was made light by many hands allowing me to turn my attention to other areas after they went home.  I continue to be simply amazed at these acts of kindness that seem to fall from the sky when we need them.

A final thought on last week came in the form of encouraging words from another farmer friend.  She wrote, "Sometimes you have to burn a field, but ashes are a fertilizer".  Too true, my friend.