My level of naive optimism was at an all time high in March of 2016 when I started my tomato seeds. 186 tomato seed starts! Don’t be mistaken. It wasn’t that I was overly optimistic that 186 plants would result from my seeds because I did have a 90% success rate.. The unrealistic optimism was that I would have the soil or water to grow that many tomato plants to maturity.

Today, with a more realistic acceptance of my environment I planted six seeds for five different types of tomatoes. I have one more type to plant next week. There will be thirty six if they all come up.. Substantially fewer than previous years. I also started my pumpkins, cucumbers, basil and lettuce.

I was standing on my back deck arms deep into the potting soil when the eagles began to make an incredible racket… They were sitting beside each other on a branch next to my house .. They don’t normally sit on the same branch unless they are about to have some romance… Then, I watched them fly off together and circle the water in a verticle loop…. I thought hmmm they did that the last year when I saw them romancing too… I watched them return to the tree and snuggle beside each other.. I knew it.. I knew it..!! I do not know why I didn’t put down my garden gloves right then and there and get my camera …..

There was some screeching and then they started.. cannoodling…. one on top of the other.. eagle cannoodling at its finest. and there I was completely surrounded by no camera..

By the time I was organised to take a picture, all that was left to see was the pillow talk..

Once the seeds were planted, I had a nice little snooze in my adirondack chair. It was twelve degrees on the perch and absolutely wonderful sitting in my sun beam.

Next year, mid March, when those two sit side by side on the same branch, I will stop what I am doing and get my camera. I will get you that picture. I will

not screw up