Why I do it

Every so often (quite often lately), I ask myself why I work so hard in the stifling heat and humidity, its mowing, pruning, weeding, watering the seedlings, edging .... Sweat running into my eyes, black fingernails and toenails, cracked heels, scratches, sunburn, being drenched in my own sweet .... I'm sure many of you can add more to this list. Then it happens ... I discover another bowl full of sweet brown turkey figs, some mango's ripen, I find a tasty squash, the hibiscus shrub grown from a cutting is covered in blooms, the starfruit rewards me with the first golden treat, a pomegranate turns ripe and turns out to be completely different from what the seed said it would be, a pineapple rewards me with my first ever self-grown pineapple, the $3 pentas turn into 6 foot tall shrubs covered in blooms year-long, my friends thank me over and over for all the plants I've given them and are now gracing their backyard, the tiny specks of dust seeds are sprouting and some have grown into 5 feet tall shrubs....Then I bear the sweat and heat and humidity and cracked heels and everything and I am so eternally grateful for this wonderful gift i have to propagate and grow my own plants.