Two Peas, Or Not Two Peas

The sun broke through the fog this morning around 9am just as I was getting both eyes focused, kind of a fitting metaphor for me. We wander out to the garden yard. Pippi decides it is imperative that she plant a doggy-mine directly in front of me, and of course my doggy-mine deactivation tools are waaaay over on the other side of the yard. Sigh. On the way to retrieve my tools, I pass by several other doggy-mines so the kids have been busy.

Post deactivation, I return to the now defunct pea patch. Yesterday I dug up and repotted 3 tomatoes from the patch and was going to decide which ones to dig up next. Out of habit I let my eyes sweep the back of the the patch where the peas had been, pre-Mole People. And I do the blink thing - yeah, that one. Is that...naw, it can't be...can it be, is it...Scarlet Runner Beans germinated and poked through the soil!!! And - the blink thing again - is that...PEAS??! Look, right there, hiding in the shadow of that Scarlet Runner Bean, it's a germinated pea plant. OH-MY-GOSH! And there, over there, just barely poking through, it's another one!

I call Richard out to see. "Wow," he says. "But I wouldn't get too excited, Mole People are probably letting those two grow up so they can harvest the peas from the pods later". I make a scrunchy face then sigh, "yeah. But look, 14 Scarlet Runner Beans!" I say hopefully. He gives me a pitying look and walks away. I mutter words of encouragement to the peas and beans. "Maybe there will be more pea plants germinate," I holler after him. He keeps walking, shaking his head at my eternal optimism. Well, it could happen.

Time for a cappuccino. I don't drink coffee, never have, never will. It's all about taste and I just don't have a taste for it. My family and friends, with the exception of my son Hammond, are all coffee drinkers. I just don't care for it. Cappuccino is a different story. My sister Kate got me hooked.

Several years ago, Port Alberni acquired a Tim Horton's. For those who don't know, Tim Horton's is a uniquely Canadian phenomenon. So unique, that I read a humorous story on Canada.com about the Tim Horton's that opened in Kandahar to cater to the Canadian Forces fighting over there. It seems that the other foreign troops on the base thought Tim Horton's, or Timmy's as we Canadians refer to it, was some sort of cult religion, and when they heard the soldiers refer to "goin' to Timmy's" they thought it meant some sort of church. I really laughed when I read that. Let's face it, Timmy's really is almost a cult of coffee and doughnuts.

Back to cappuccino. Kate kept insisting that I had to try a Tim Horton's English Toffee Cappuccino, and I did and I was hooked. Then WalMart came to town and I discovered Hills Brothers English Toffee Cappuccino powder and the rest, as they say, is history. I saver every cup.

Now it's evening and we wander back to the pea patch just to make sure the peas are still there. They are, and another Scarlet Runner Bean has poked it's little head through the soil. I have a debate with myself on methods to preserve the two little peas who have managed to survive the onslaught of the Mole People. Finally I settle on the red clay pots, choosing to invert them over the peas and their companion Scarlet Runner Beans. I guess it is the best I can do.

If I wake up in the night to the sound of little Mole People voices shouting encouragement to each other as they struggle to topple over the red clay pots, I guess I'll need to find a better method of protecting my two peas...

...either that or stop drinking cappuccino before bed!