I'm furious... and a little heartbroken. Last year, we separated about 3 strawberry plants and made some more. Fall came around and I separated plants again and replanted in two nice new beds. I believe I had just over 60 plants. I planted garlic as well, maybe 30.
About two weeks ago, I peeked under the straw I'd tucked the plants in with for the winter. So many healthy green leaves! Garlic and strawberries had survied. I wasn't sure if they would because I'd never separated plants like that before. I don't have a green thumb. Hubby inherited his from his grandfather. But me? I kill plants. So I was really surprised to see that it looked as if everything had not only survived me AND the winter, but they were thriving!
Yesterday evening, when I took the dogs out, I almost sat down and cried when I saw my garden beds. There was nothing green left. I looked closer. There was nothing left at all.
We've had some escapee chickens that just won't stay where I want them. Most of the flock stays within their yard. But there's usually five to six every day that refuse and I have to chase them back two or three times a day. Because I have a dog that wants to eat them and sometimes she gets to them before I do. (She doesn't really want to eat them, but she does like to chase and she can get a little rough) Well, I'm wishing I'd let her have at 'em.
No strawberries. No garlic. No roots. Just dirt. The garlic would have been ready to pull pretty soon. The strawberries would have started sending out runners to make more. Now there's nothing.
I'm feeling really... unmotivated. After all the hard work I did all by myself last year, after dragging water and feed through the snow and cold all winter, by myself, after having 2 goat kids arrive alive and healthy in March... I've been done in by a handful of fucking chickens. I'm so tired. I was so tired! All winter, I was tired, but I kept things going, and now it feels like it was just a waste of time. I know, it's only strawberries. It's not like the barn fell down, or like everything died. But I had an unnatural attachment to those plants.
I guess I should be happy that I had to hold off planting because we're mostly under water still here. At least they didn't have anything else to destroy.
I have a lot of seeds to plant this year.
There will be a lot of chicken in my freezer this year.
And maybe some fresh fried chicken later this week.
But no strawberry jam 😭
Windy,
ReplyDeleteI do have a particularly nasty rooster that's a very nice size! He's first on my hit list just because he's a jerk. He's not even guilty of eating my berries. You're welcome to him and I'll even pay the shipping.
Windy, as a matter of fact, the other roos have agreed that he's a jerk and have been keeping him in line. He hasn't attacked me in at least a week now. He's looking like he's a few feathers short of a duster.
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