Gardeners are the most optimistic people in the world.
I have my storm supplies ready and I need to wait for hubby so we can both start to batten down the hatches, so I decided to use my time by visiting the hardware store to pick up garden supplies for the next garden project. There is reason behind my madness. I was in this house after Charlie in 2004 and we didn't have electricity for two days. It helped to keep my mind off my discomfort by gardening. Don't ask me why, but as long as I keep moving, the heat doesn't bother me. My son and his friend had cleaned up all the hurricane debris, so I proceeded to remove ferns from a small landscaped area on my property in order to plant daylilies. It would have been very therapeutic if not for the neighbor's grandkid who was propped on the wall across the street, obviously keeping an eye on my activities. It was pretty obvious that he was following orders to protect the next-door neighbor's vacant yard, who was a crony. Certainly someone they could depend on for quid pro quos over the years. (Really, such bullshit has to be experienced in order to appreciate what's really happening in these red suburban communities.)
Anyway, I went down to the hardware store today and couldn't stop beaming when I found like-minded souls filling their carts with mulch bags, soil and plants. I think it's important to remember that one should be prepared for the worst, but the waiting is hell and, sometimes, you just have to do something normal to help yourself stay centered.
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I tell you what. I have great bone density tests, and I get plenty of Vitamin D for free.
We moved from a zone 10 and almost 12 month growing season to a zone 6b or 7a with lots of weird bugs and crab grass that is more than tenacious.
I was a dreamer and oblivious to the obvious and fenced off an acre of semi flat land and started my native garden. There have been lots of things (okay, problems) along the way, but this year I have an almost completely workable water system and lots of the plantings have settled in. Of course, it will probably always be a work in progress, but I see some this year. That really creates such a feeling of accomplishment and contentment. But of course, one can never be too content, there is always more to do.
Have fun digging in the dirt! 
I found out strawberries were armadillo bait.
Have not seen one since I stopped the strawberries ( developed a late life allergy to them!)
