Attitude Adjustment

So I was talking to a couple of friends about the weather the other day---and of course when I say “talking” I mean I was complaining at length---and was surprised to find that my perception of the recent weather and their---clearly erroneous---perception of the weather were completely different. They didn’t seem to find May nearly as cold and gloomy as I did.

Huh. Perhaps a change in my attitude would help. And—just for arguments sake---let us imagine that I was in fact correct and May IS cold and gloomy---how should I best make peace with a month that is less than it could be, weather-wise?

So I made myself a mental list of all the positive things about a gloomy, damp misty May:

1) Little time spent watering my newly planted flowers

2) My sunscreen budget will not need to be increased

3) Great excuse to not mow the grass

4) Perfect slug picking weather.

Into each garden a little slug must crawl...
Got salt? (and yes, I know that's a snail)

Slugs. UGH.
This time of year the little slime-ers can lay waste to a flat of marigolds in short order. I have an on-going battle with the wee beasties that spans decades and resort to chemical warfare only as a last resort. I’ve been known to chop them in half with a         garden  trowel or poke them with a garden stake, but the best, least gooshy way to deal with them is salt water. Mix a half cup of salt water into half a gallon of warm water and shake. Be sure to repurpose an old milk jug for this task. Keep the jug with you   as  you work around the garden and simply drop any slugs you find into the briney mixture. A damp day is perfect slug picking weather because they will venture out from under the leaves and can be easily plucked from your plants. And when the jug is full,   just cap it and drop it into your trash. Easy-peasy!