It Could Be A Fruitful Summer!

I may be succeeding at this gardening thing. Yes, I AM amazed that I have all these tiny little plants poking out of the ground!
Last week, the first of the sprouts came up... the radishes, which ironically I don't eat. I planted them because 1) I was told they were easy, and 2) My dad, Joe and Krystle's boyfriend like them. I figured if I totally failed, especially with radishes, then I would have to be satisfied with the Farmers Markets and produce sections of the grocery.
On Saturday I noticed another row of very tiny green sprouts! This is my row of lettuce! (See, OHN-- patience-- the lettuce is coming! LOL)
I am thinking the other rows, consisting of Bell Peppers, carrots, parsley, and onions will be peeking up out of the dirt this week.
I do have tiny sprouts of mint in a pot on my porch, right alongside the two strawberry plants that are loaded with green berries!
Even the flowers are doing well, and that is a major accomplishment for me as I tend to kill anything that is green and requires regular care. Good thing my kids were normal pink and not green! hahahaha!

Now, all of this nearly came to an abrupt ending on Friday...into Saturday morning. Krystle, who is as excited about this garden as I am, decided to "help" but nearly washed the entire shebang into the next county! Yes, Krystle wanted to help with something.... so, no, I couldn't have been mad even if it had led to a farm disaster on a miniature scale.
Here is how it went down:
Joe's mother has been visiting him for the past few weeks, so I have been spending a few more nights a week in Great Falls than I normally do, and Friday was one of those nights. I usually go home to Helena on Friday, but Gretchen was leaving soon and we all wanted to have a nice dinner out (Borrie's, for all you local readers). Krystle noticed I had not come home, called me to make sure, then asked me if I needed her to water the garden that evening. I was planning on thinning the row of radishes on Saturday, so I told her it was not necessary but if she really wanted to, to only leave the water on for 15 minutes. I was hoping I wouldn't be kneeling in mud, so planned to thin and weed before giving the garden a good drink.
I didn't think she would turn on the water. Hell, she doesn't even pick up her dishes from the living room!
I pull into the driveway about 10am Saturday morning (dirt, since I live in the country) and although the entire drive home was dry and sunny, there are three large puddles between me and the garage! I'm not talking one or two foot puddles... I am talking LARGE... one all the way across the driveway, and two others claiming most of the land I usually drive on!
I park in my usual spot, step out of the Rav-4, and my shoe sinks half an inch into the mud! Krystle's car is gone, but where she parked was a rectangle shaped dry spot. (Now is the time to tell you what the ground is like on my land... clay and rock. In order for it to get truly muddy, there needs to be ALOT of water.) My potted pansies had four inches of water above the dirt, and the soil was nearly liquid in form! My two poor tomato plants were sitting in a bog.
I stood there, outside my gate next to the garden space and actually laughed out loud. Brooke, my adorable 10 year old Malamute/Rottie cross, looked at me as if I had gone completely bonkers! I said to her "Well, if Mother Nature isn't in the mood to try and kill my garden this weekend, it looks like Krystle IS!"
I called the daughter.... voice mail. She must be at work. I TXT her: "Soooo... just how long WAS the water going?"
Her reply was " Um HaHa! So, its a funny story...!"
I never did get to hear it.
Most of the mud dried up by Sunday morning (yes, 24 hours!), but when I left Helena to return to Great Falls on Sunday evening the areas where the puddles had been was still very muddy. No, I didn't get the radishes thinned. Yes, the garden got watered!
Teenagers.... Gotta love 'em!