Do we really have control?

by Jumoke
(Omaha, NE)

As an avid gardener I believe that if I plan the garden, add soil, compost, water and tender loving care, I will be in control of the outcome (The good Lord will send wonderful sunshine).

We all know that we could do all that and more and for some reason the plants fail to thrive or some bug, worm or disease attacks the plants! We really are not in control! I learned this lesson early this summer.

As a newbie to butterfly gardening, I learned that dill was a favorite of the green, yellow and black striped caterpillars that become the beautiful swallow tailed butterfly after I had squashed several of them in my herb garden.

How foolish.

I work in a community garden and I decided to repopulate my garden with the caterpillar. I brought one home and gingerly set it on a stem on my dill plant. I watched it grow bigger and bigger for a few days. I was potting around in the garden and down swooped a bird toward the caterpillar.

Well you know the rest of the story.

I felt guilty. I brought the caterpillar to its demise. I stood there thinking about lessons learned.

Leave well alone.

You really are not in control.

Look before you leap. If I hadn't squashed the caterpillars in the first place I wouldn't have had to repopulate!

I never did see a Swallow Tail Butterfly but I received other guests!