Garden Dreams

This morning I found this little guy helping himself to a nice big breakfast on my basil plant. How dare you eat my basil plant before I’ve even had a chance to?!



I immediately clipped the leaf off and put him outside in my front yard (not before snapping a few photos first, of course). I was very upset, but didn’t have the heart to kill him.

Since we lived in a little condo without a yard or patio before moving in the house, I was eager to start planting things in the backyard. A few weekends ago I bought a few plants to grow in pots: a tomato plant, cilantro, basil and mint. Where I had enthusiasm and love for my plants, I lacked in my green thumb. Within two weeks of planting, my tomato plant and cilantro both died! I was totally devastated. I had dreams of having beautiful, ripe garden tomatoes this summer, but all of it – crushed!

It’s not that I thought I was a pro gardener, because I really don’t have much experience. I guess I was just spoiled by Sacramento climate and soil. It seemed like everything I put in the ground thrived without much effort.

Now that I’m in Phoenix for good, I definitely need to learn more about gardening in a desert climate. I’m going to buy tomato plant #2 and give it another go. Let me know if there are good gardening books you’d recommend. My beautiful tomato dreams must prevail!

Home

We moved in three weeks ago and yet I can still hardly believe it: we're homeowners! It seems like the end of our home search was a long time coming, but maybe that's the story of every homeowner. The other common story among homeowners is the amount of time you spend fixing little things in the house. I didn't come from a family of handy people, so the only things I knew how to do were to paint and change door knobs.

Still, it's been a rewarding experience learning as we go. There's something really therapeutic about working with my hands. I admire people who make pottery and people who know how to build things. So much thought goes into each project and it must be so rewarding to have something that you made from planks of wood and chunks of clay.

Since I shoot exclusively digital now, there is no need to spend hours in the darkroom mixing chemicals, unwinding film and developing negatives. Most of my work is done on the computer and sometimes, I miss getting my hands dirty.