Tomato Worms and Other Crazy Stuff in the Life of an Artist

Tomato Worm
GODZILLA in the Garden

I am not a veteran gardener.  I am sort of a half-hearted one, to be truthful.  I have had lots of support from friends and from the great folks from Stark Fresh, however, so I took on a new adventure this year, seeing as though I have a yard for the first time in a long time.

I had no idea of all the different things you have to worry about when gardening. And I certainly had no idea that GODZILLA would show up in my small little group of container gardens!

I had a little bit of fun, posting about this critter, now identified as a Tomato Hornworm, on my Facebook page. I got lots of comments. Some folks admired the 4″ long creature, but most, like me, considered him a monster.

Lets face it. He devoured the better part of my pepper plant in less than 2 hours. And to beat all, he just left parts of peppers hanging, as if going through someone else’s box of chocolates and leaving a bunch half eaten.

pepper remnants tomato worm

He was too big to smush, so, on the advise of some of my more genteel Facebook friends, I relocated him to the abandoned house across the street. Good riddance GODZILLA.

One less genteel friend suggested that I tear him in two. Ugh! I did not want to touch the thing, nor did I want to take the chance that it would haunt me in another life.

Others jokingly suggested that I move. And that brings me to what this post is REALLY about.

It is not because of GODZILLA in the Garden. But I do have to move. AGAIN.

If you follow me in social media, or if you follow this blog, you know that I moved to my present home in March of this year because of a great opportunity offered to me in an Artist Residency. It remains a great opportunity. But my home, it turns out, was not the best house to move into.

I won’t say much, as there may be legalities involved. It is, however a matter of public record that my home has been deemed unsafe for human occupation due to lead hazards by the Canton City Health Department. I therefore, must move.

I am currently in an urgent search for a new home within the boundaries of the neighborhood designated for my Artist Residency. It is not an easy search, as there are few rentals in the boundaries. That is part of what makes it an attractive neighborhood for development, ironically.

I have not wanted to post about this. I wanted to wait until the situation was resolved. It is just taking longer than I would have liked.

And I am not good with accepting things that stay unresolved for an inordinate amount of time.

This situation has affected me deeply, and is part of why I have not posted much on this blog of late. It is really hard to keep a positive face to the world when things are crumbling in the most basic arena of your life – your home.

And if I can’t be positive, I don’t want to write.

There will be much to write about this later when I can look back on it and say it was just another one of my adventures. I look forward to that day.  In the meantime, I am going to try harder to find the humor in the struggle, as I was able to do today with my GODZILLA in the Garden.

Wherever I move to, though, GODZILLA in the Garden is NOT welcome to follow.

Stay tuned…

8 comments

  1. Bernadette says:

    I wondered what was up! I’ve been concerned about the lead issue you’d mentioned and you and your kitties. I truly hope you can find another residence in the boundaries and you can finish out your plan. Most of all, thanks for being positive! We create the world we are in, even in the face of adversity.

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