THERE IS A LONGING for perfection in the human heart. Every gardener knows this feeling. In our mind’s eye we see the plant perfectly placed in the garden or landscape, its satisfaction with its spot written in the happy toss of its leaves and its thrifty demeanor, the beauty of its flowers and abundance of its fruits.
We plant our stock with such hope and expectations, but there almost always comes a reckoning.
This strawberry may be unscathed, but that strawberry, growing next to it on the same plant, has been half eaten away by…what? Pillbugs? Earwigs? Turtles? Yes, even turtles. I grew), and it was always a race to see who got to the ripe berries first—me or the box turtles.
