My Gardening Karma is Squirrelly

Maybe it’s the sparkling shine of summer on my children’s darling little faces or just a phase my girls are going through, but they are The Cutest Kids in the World these days. Even when I’m losing my cool, I have a huge crush on them.

So this morning, I was feeling exceptionally crush-y about my cuties and really proud about these beautiful petunias we’ve grown in pots on our front porch. The girls and I have been working together (let’s do teamwork!) to water the plants each morning. They take turns with the watering can, sharing the splashing and the sense of accomplishment. And it’s clear that they really love being barefoot on the front porch right in the middle of our get-ready routine each day.

We grew these!

Also, I feel like such a Good Mom when we do this work together. They’re happy. I’m happy. It’s a beautiful 5 minutes in the morning. Ahhh.

The petunias are kind of a Big Deal, because I have killed so many plants. My flora karma has got to be in ridiculously bad shape. In fact, I know it is, because some of my front-yard fauna saw fit to remind me of my “black thumb” today.

That is, a damn squirrel pulled up our pretty pink petunias and ate the roots for lunch. I caught him in the act as I arrived home from my own lunch date.

Who knew a squirrel would do this?!

(Um, probably everyone who gardens. Which is: not me!)

So now we have these sad plants.

Look at that big hole in the middle of the pot!

Ironically, in my kid-crush reverie this morning, I’d grabbed the camera to share the too-sweetness of my little one doing the morning watering All By Herself today (big sis hitched an early ride to camp this morning with daddy).

So even though the plants are sad, there’s still this sweetie pie, ready to water again tomorrow! Just as pleased as can be, no doubt, that there’s watering work to do, and a few pink flowers on the porch.

Plus, we got this pretty little bunch.

Oh, fine.

Thank you, Mr. Squirrel.