It seems that I’m always needing to make decisions. Do I do the easy thing, the cheap thing, the fast thing, or the right thing? And why is it that the right thing generally takes more of something I don’t have enough of. Either time or money or energy is always in short supply so I’m always making compromises.

Take something as simple (HA!) as strawberries. If I want a year’s supply of strawberries I can go the easy (but expensive) route of buying a case of #10 cans of dried strawberries. It works if you don’t mind paying top dollar for berries of uncertain origin that have been grown and shipped from who knows where. Another option is to purchase a couple dozen bags of frozen berries and pop them in your freezer. Less expensive, still easy but there’s the pesky problem of origins and plastic bags and supporting an agribizz system. You can always buy local berries and put them up yourself. It will still cost you but at least you know here they came from and you can put them up in any fashion that suits you. By far, the most complicated way to get your berries is to grow them yourself. It means preparing your soil, amending, mulching, weeding, buying stock, learning about the various cultivars, picking, processing, putting your bed down in the fall and preparing it for the winter. You need to know about diseases, garden pests and how to fend off the birds who want a share of the harvest. You also need to fend off friends and relatives who expect baskets of berries when they stop in for a visit. You can understand why the #10 can holds a certain appeal.

I’m thinking about all of this because I spent way too much time today feeling guilty. I needed a new strawberry bed and I know I should have prepared it last year. I should have laid down the cardboard, the hay and the compost to make a no-till bed. This is better for the soil but it takes a lot of time. I found myself needing to get the bed prepared and resorted to the noisy, polluting, bad-for-the-soil rototiller. My point here is that perfection is the enemy of accomplishment. We all want to do the right thing but sometimes, the best we can do is the best we can do.

I got a cold back in December and have been battling a sinus infection ever since. I tried all of the natural remedies like nettie pots and elderberry tea and steam and anything else recommended to me by well-meaning friends. Today, I went to the doctor and came home with an antibiotic. It’s been only 12 hours and I’m already feeling better. Like I said. You have to do what you have to do.

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