Yeh, but the potted tomatoes ain't doin' sh*t so far, and no hope of a mess of snap beans. Oh, the tomatoes look real healthy, but they are not getting enough sun to bloom. I'm going to move them around a bit to try to get a little more sun - I'm not trying for enough tomatoes to preserve and it won't take many for this household of 1 1/2 to have fresh tomatoes for the summer. But I'm not sure I am even going to manage that.

Don't get me wrong. I'm going to enjoy learning about shade gardening, appreciate the benefits of shade to comfort and frugal utility bills in our hot summers, and love the calm, cool, green-ness of these tall trees.

But I also think being able to grow food is important. Both me and my nearest neighbors would have to cut down most of our trees for me to get 6 hours of sun on any patch of ground. Not quite true. I could probably take out an additional two big, healthy oaks on the north property boundary as well as a few dogwoods and choke cherries on the property line and get a small veggie garden space. If Sister Annie ever makes it down to cut down one big but diseased dogwood, that would help some, though until it comes down, I can't really tell if it would let in enough light for a small summer veggie garden for fresh eating or not.    And I don't want to sacrifice trees for a small garden plot that probably wouldn't supply all my fresh veggie needs for the summer and would definitely not supply any preserved veggies for the winter months.    The over-all environmental cost/benefit ratio doesn't justify it, even if I were to consider only my own immediate self-interests and not the over-all environmental impact.

This is not a whine, by the way.   It is simply me talking out loud as I think through and come to terms with a number of realities.