Water

As I walk around the neighborhood on torrid mornings, I try not to be jealous of people with in-ground sprinkler systems.  Still it is hard to watch the little sprinkler heads spewing water in all directions, making flowerbeds glisten and lawns lush and green, and not wish that I had gone into a more lucrative career field.  Then I remind myself about the size of the water bills and the maintenance headaches that come along with anything that requires outdoor plumbing.  Most of the time, my garden requires very little supplemental irrigation.  It is only in the dog days of summer that I struggle to perfect my arrangement of sprinklers and soaker hoses so that the most vulnerable plants get enough to drink.  As I struggle, I tell myself that my gardening addiction is as much about process as results.  Arranging soaker hoses is, after all, part of the process.