the advantages of shade

our yard is so tightly surrounded by such old trees that almost no full sun falls on any part of our property. i have long thought this a disadvantage because it means we can’t really grow a garden, which means i can’t really enjoy late summer tomatoes in the quantities i require, without turning them into a habit more expensive than cocaine. but i just googled “japanese beetle” to try to get a sense of what ate these aspen leaves, and the hatred and vitriol directed at these little beetles in garden blogs and on university extension websites appeared to be rivaled only by the comments section of a political article defending one of the two candidates for US president. if one species of beetle is causing that much frustration out there, then maybe i’m happy after all that i don’t have a fragile little vegetable garden, and that instead my yard grows trees and brush in such profusion that the japanese beetles don’t have a chance.

beetle eaten poplar leaves

sucker creek, shoreview, minnesota