irriation station

if it’s not one thing lately, it’s another.  my friends and family have heard “I’m Irritated” come out of my mouth with more frequency than republicans caught in prostitution scandals (and drug and bribery and…) which, believe me, is a lot.

today the source of my irritation is the wind.  wind is fine and all, normally, but today..  oh today it seems that if it isn’t my son sabotaging my efforts, it is the wind.

i am talking about my california poppy seeds.  these little buggers are hard to harvest yet i have been out there, day after day, rooting around in the feathery plants looking for seed pods that are about to burst.  if you are not familiar with the seed pods, let me explain.

they grow out from the center of the poppy like a weird little phallus.  the pods on my plants range from about 2 inches to up to about 6.  then they stay that way for a week, maybe more.  then, if i am lucky, i catch them right about the time they start to dry out.  if you don’t catch ‘em, or you aren’t a crazy gardener like me who harvests seeds, they throw themselves open along a seam-like indentation and FLING the tiny little seeds, at 180 mph, into the neighbor’s yard.  it actually stings a little when the seeds hit you.  really.

well, the other day the wind knocked my ziplock bag full of about a month’s work of seeds (about 4 tablespoons) over into some gravel.  i quickly grabbed the spade and scooped up the rocks, seeds, and all.  well, The Dictator (as he will now be known) thought this was now a game and shoveled 2 more scoops of rock into the bag.  ass!  it took me a week to summon up the energy to sit patiently and separate rock from seed.

so i then moved the seeds into a large glass jar.  the bigger jar afforded more room for the un-opened seed pods to finish their thing.  i found the smaller jar allowed the seeds to sail right into the dishwasher when it was set upon the kitchen island.  (ziplock baggie was method #2).

so imagine my irritation when i go into the backyard today for my daily dose of harvesting, and there lays the glass jar, broken on the ground.  ARG!  smashed on the ground by that wind.  why wind gods?   why must you torture me?  for the record the seeds are for sharing, oh gods of wicked humor!!

i managed to salvage about 2 tablespoons.

moved to a plastic jar.  inside.

i’m about this close >——-<  to giving up.  well, at least until the cosmos go to seed.