I bought a packet of zinnia seeds the other day. (I swear this isn't going to turn into a gardening blog.)
Let me explain why I bought seeds: My husband was out of town and I thought that planting them and watching them grow would be a fun educational activity for my three-year old. And I was desperate for something to do with the kid, so a $5.99 packet of seeds seemed like a great idea at the time. (The time being at the grocery store with two hungry kids and an entire afternoon to fill. All by myself. Did I mention that already? WOE IS ME.)
This may come as a shock to you, but the kid lost interest in planting the seeds after 3 minutes - coincidentally, the amount of time it took me to open the seed packet. He got bored with the seed-plant-flower life cycle and became fascinated with an earthworm. I wouldn't let him torture it with a twig, so he got angry and emptied the entire packet of seeds in one spot. And then we went inside the house because his screaming tantrum was scaring his little brother, and two screaming kids in the hot sun is No Fun At All.
What happened next? Nothing. I completely forgot about the flowers...until yesterday that is, when I noticed a bunch of seedlings growing in the general area where Sebastian had emptied the packet of seeds. I was honestly surprised that the seeds managed to thrive since I never watered or fed them or even bothered to cover them in dirt. Since those seeds survived such neglect, I figured the least I could do was thin them out. And that is how I spent a lovely Sunday morning: Carefully digging the seedlings out, prepping the earth, and replanting them in neat little rows. I then watered them and admired my handiwork for a bit.
It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. They looked so happy now that they could breathe!
My hands were already dirty, so I thought I might as well go back and tackle the scary corner of the yard that has become overgrown with weeds. (I should tell you, that's where the brown hairy spiders have made their home. Funny how that works.) However, I'd been such a gardening rockstar all morning that I wasn't going to let some furry insects stop me, no matter how scary and jumpy.
So I took a deep breath, got on my knees, and go to work.
It didn't take long for me to notice that the weeds looked...familiar - VERY familiar. I ripped one out of the ground and headed to my "zinnia" patch.
It was a perfect match.
I've either spent a perfectly fine Sunday morning lovingly and carefully thinning weeds or the spiders have been growing zinnias, and they're better at it than me. I'm pissed off either way.
