We have reached the point in the summer where, with the exception of a couple of rows of very hardy kale, all my greens have bolted in the heat, necessitating their removal from the garden. I am reduced to shopping at the farm market for all my leafy green needs; how they are keeping them from bolting, I have no idea, but I feel like shade is involved. What the garden is lacking in greens, it is more than making up for in zucchinis and raspberries, as well as tomatoes. I am drowning in tomatoes.
But as god is my witness, I will never plant bell peppers again. There are two reasons for this, and the first is because we consume far more peppers than I could possibly grow, unlike the aforementioned produce, which exceeds even the outside amount that one family can reasonably consume. The other reason is that, for the second year in a row, the peppers have been foiled by some manner of animal, most likely a rat. Or, as seems to be the case, several rats.
Let’s pause for a moment, Winston Smith-style, to shudder.
Last year, almost every single bell pepper had been gnawed on precisely when it would have been happily picked and consumed by me, and this year has seen every one disappear in such a way. But worse than that was that Something – Ratty McRatface, I presume – gnawed off TWO of my plants, leaving a mere three inch stick where a healthy plant once was. The thing that really gets me is that there was no pepper on those plants at all, and the plants themselves were just strewn merrily in the garden box. I am sensitive with regards to animals, and if one was EATING something, I would feel low-level sympathy, even while being annoyed at the bell pepper disappearance. But this is not that. This is just wanton destruction of plants. It’s plant murder.
Is the rat an out-of-control juvenile delinquent? Is this some kind of rat frat party? Maybe. It’s now set its sights on my smaller zinnias, because a few of them have also been snipped off at three-inch level.
I am typically a live-and-let-live girl when it comes to local wildlife, but I draw the line at a) the house, and b) the garden, especially the flowers.
And by “war,” I mean I will be glaring sadly and impotently at the destruction. Well, at least they have not touched the big zinnias or nasturtiums, which is important, as they are keeping those garden boxes busy since the Loss of the Greens. I like to have something nice to look at while I’m enjoying my afternoon read and sip.
Speaking of which, I was in the grocery store buying San Pellegrino, when I came across this.
I stared at it for many moments. Carl…Jung? The…Swiss psychiatrist? The…father of analytical psychology? Isn’t he…dead? Why is he…I thought that maybe I had conflated names somehow. I do that often. I confuse Tom Holland with Tom Hiddleston, Burt Lancaster with Burt Reynolds. I even once talked about Jimmy Page when I meant Jimmy Buffett. It wasn’t until I read Doppelganger in 2024 that I realized that – instead of confusing Naomi Wolff and Naomi Klein, which is the theme of the book – I had been conflating Naomi Klein and the 1970s YA author NORMA Klein for decades. I didn’t know Naomi Klein was a Canadian! I didn’t know she was a social activist! The author of Sunshine? That book about the woman with cancer?
As it turns out there are two famous Carl Jungs: the tell me your dreams Carl Jung, and Carl Jung the German non-alcoholic winemaker. I cannot fault myself for conflating the two because who knew? Certainly not me. And I certainly did not purchase any of the product, because although a non-alcoholic cooler is acceptable to me, a non-alcoholic wine is just a bridge too far.
Weekly Reading
I had a DNF this week, and that was The Kiss Quotient. My sweet friend Stephany (HI STEPHANY) had mentioned it as one of her favourite romances, and – this was the detail that sealed the deal for me – the protagonist is an econometrician. AN ECONOMETRICIAN. My people! It immediately evoked many happy memories of running regressions, data cleaning, and economic modelling. I was so excited that I even pulled out my master’s thesis, which I haven’t looked at for a few decades at least.
But, unsurprisingly for a romance, there was very little econometrics involved. WHO KNEW. Who knew no one else is interested in econometrics? The romance itself was a little spicy for my tastes, and it was a gender-swapped Pretty Woman-type story. I have to tell you that Pretty Woman is one of my least favourite movies of all time – ALL TIME – and so I sadly put the book aside and hung my head in shame as I told Stephany I had to DNF. She was so lovely and gracious, which reminded me to be lovely and gracious when and if someone DNFs my favourite books. Even though that book was not for me, I am happy that an econometrician was the sexy star of a romance. Justice for econometricians!
Speaking of books I maybe should have DNF’d:
The Names. What’s in a name, and can a name change the trajectory of a life? That is the premise of this book, which involves three parallel universes over a period of thirty-five years, based on the name given to the baby boy of a family. I will say that I found this book very difficult to read, and not just because it deals with terrible domestic abuse, but also because the middle was a bit of a slog to get through. It is not an uplifting book, although the prose is quite lyrical. It made me think of all the wasted time and lives, of all the sadnesses of the world, of how lives can be short or long but often are full of trauma and hardship. I can appreciate the book from a literary point of view, but from an emotional one I did not enjoy it.
Sunshine Nails. From the author of Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead! In other words, Canadian author alert! This story follows an immigrant family’s struggle to keep their nail salon open when a fancy chain day spa opens up right across the street. It’s a story of resilience, family ties, and the importance of community. The bravery of people who leave their home countries to try to make a better life for themselves and their families – including the ones left at home – is astonishing to me. This story has a lot of heart, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Good People. My reading certainly got better as the week went on because wow! This is not only one of the best books I’ve read all year, it’s one of the best books I’ve read ever. It is written in an original way: a series of interviews, documentary-style, about the death of a teen girl. Information about the family involved is slowly released throughout the interviews, and it is incredibly engrossing and compelling. I loved it so much. It is, in my opinion, a perfect book.
I have such an exciting week ahead of me. I have not one but TWO sets of out-of-town visitors coming in, and I could not be happier. If you need me, I will be floating around in a cloud of joy. xo
Hold on a minute here! In defense of Ratty McRatface, you have NO PROOF that it was my client- er, I mean, a rat, who destroyed your plants. There are a lot of other animals out there! Rats get a bad rap, and shouldn’t take the blame for everything, is what I’m saying. But I am sorry about your peppers- we had that problem when we tried to grow tomatoes. The only tomatoes we had success with were cherry tomatoes. When we tried to grow big ones, SOMEONE kept taking a bite out of each one before we could pick them.
Ha ha, yes, what a surprise that The Kiss Quotient didn’t focus on econometrics! I agree it’s very disappointing when a book “dumbs down” a subject you’re really interested in. I’m not saying it’s a dumb book, but most books these days don’t delve deeply into esoteric subjects.
I want to read Good People!!! I’ve heard other good things about it, and your review has convinced me.
Oh Jenny, I knew you would be unhappy with me! But the thing is that your client(s) have been sighted at the scene of the crime! Also the garden is fully fenced, so very few animals could get in there – I suppose mice could also be a culprit, but the damage was done by something bigger, it seems. I hate to tell you it’s Ratty McRatface and friends! I don’t blame rats for everything! I promise! But the evidence is pretty damning!
Could it be a squirrel or a rabbit? We’ve had problems with both of those (plus deer and birds), which is why all our vegetables are under mesh. Our garden is much less extensive than yours, though, making that easier. I don’t suppose it matters, but somehow it feels less icky to think it was a cute bunny.
I’ve been away from my garden for 3 weeks and Noah occasionally sends pictures, but I am eager to see the big picture when we pop back for a weekend visit soon.
I loved The Names. Different strokes, I guess.
We don’t have rabbits here, there are too many coyotes! And our squirrels mainly stay in the trees, unlike in Calgary where they were digging in my garden all the time! We have a big deer fence and we do mesh things like the strawberries. Interestingly, nothing touches the zucchinis. Ha! I think next year I’m going to grow beets in the pepper box.
I also only recently found out that Naomi Klein was Canadian! I shuddered when I read about the rats eating your plants and zipped through that part quickly, sorry! I’ve heard good things about The Names, not sure though if I’ll get around to reading it, but I do want to read Sunshine Nails and Good People.
Not only is she Canadian, she’s a west coaster! I think she lives on the Island. I think you’ll love those two books!
I would much rather believe it’s a squirrel or cute little bunny eating your plants. Mice I can deal with (with a cottage it’s almost a given when the weather gets cooler) but not rats. They really give me a sickish feeling. You are very impressive with that econometrics Masters!! Did I even get that word right??
We don’t have bunnies here, and the squirrels mainly hang out in the trees and eat our maple spinners. There are mice in the shed, which I don’t care much about – as long as they aren’t in the house!
I do not have a vegetable garden but I love peppers and feel your frustration. I was gifted zucchini from my neighbour and have been making loaves and grilling – so good!
I really enjoyed The Names and I agree that Good People was excellent.
Oooh I wish you were here, you could have so many zucchinis!
Good People!!! So good. I want to talk about the ending with everybody! It hasn’t been since Her Many Faces that I wanted to talk about an ending so much. It’s funny when I don’t think an ending is ambiguous and then everyone else does.
I loved it so much!! It was just so well done and by the end I couldn’t consume it fast enough! (I don’t think I’ve read Her Many Faces, going to look it up right now)
Down with rodents! In my yard, it is the squirrel who murders our apples. I see the little critter daintily climb out to a nearly ripe apple, take one bite, and then drops it. I swear he knew I was watching. I find apples with one or two bites out of them scattered about the tree. It’s a good thing I’m not depending on these apples for anything- we planted the tree because it was five bucks and the flowers are pretty in the spring.
I’m surprised a rat would be so bold to enter Rex’s domain.
Good People was a compelling read, but I came away sad. And we won’t know what really happened. I’m a mathemetician- I like answers and verifiable results. Ambiguous endings never please me.
Oh, squirrels can be such destructive little bastards. They aren’t really a problem here, but they wreaked havoc on our yard in Calgary. One even ate the wire hat on a light-up Christmas snowman. That reminded me that our old neighbour in Calgary had a crabapple tree and the squirrels would drop slightly-eaten crabapples in our yard, to my dog Barkley’s absolute delight. Every fall he would be out there munching them down, it was like a fruity buffet for him. The garden is fenced off and Rex is rarely if ever inside of it, so his scent isn’t really around.
How frustrating about the murder of your bell pepper plants! It would be interesting to get a night camera and see what’s going on in the garden at night. Catch those naughty, delinquent creatures red handed!
Isn’t non alcoholic wine just juice? Except that maybe juice tastes better! Ha! Ha! I’ve never tried non alcoholic wine. I did try some NA beer once, and it didn’t impress me.
Well your flowers are so gorgeous! And look at your bountiful tomato harvest!
Oh I agree, Michelle – juice does taste better! I tried it once and never again. I’d rather have nothing!
Those delinquents are just having a wild party! There are leaves and stalks fully intact, strewn everywhere. They aren’t eating the plants! Just the peppers. but they don’t touch the jalapenos, maybe next year I’ll grow only hot peppers.
Paul and I are reading “Charlotte’s Web” together so my mind goes to Templeton as the culprit in this crime. Although Templeton would not be drawn to your pepper plants! That is such a shame to have them gnawed off like that. I tried to grow basil in a pot the first year we lived in this house and something ate it – I assume rabbits or squirrels. I tried putting cayenne pepper on it to deter them but it made no difference. Sigh.
When I saw in a comment that you were reading The Names I was like – oh no, that’s NSF Nicole… The abuse in that novel was so visceral. I was expecting an author note saying that she had experienced domestic abuse. All that said, I really enjoyed that novel and its structure but it’s definitely not for everyone. I also read and enjoyed Good People – it would make such a great book club book.
TEMPLETON!! What a funny character. Does Paul like the book?
One year I planted 150 fall bulbs and squirrels dug up and ate every last one! Can you believe it???
Paul is liking Charlotte’s Web, but not as much as I thought he might. But he’s anxious to get to the 2nd book in the fantasy series we started this year so once we picked it up at the library, his interest has waned a bit. But there are some really descriptive passages in the book. I enjoy them but he has less interest in those parts. But we love Templeton’s character!
Ugh, those gd squirrels!
Two Carl Jungs! Mind.Blown.
The first year that I planted bell peppers I grew the perfect bell pepper and it was like manna from heaven. It was exactly the same quality improvement that you get from a home grown tomato vs a store bought tomato. But note the quantity: one. From several plants. Year after year I tried to grow bell peppers and never had the same, er, success rate again, so I gave them up along with all other gardening because I suck at it.
I made the decision a long time ago that I would never read The Names and as far as I can tell it was the right call. Right now I’m in something of a reading drought. I’m listening to two audiobooks, but I don’t have a “reading” book going. I’m not worried because based on experience I know that the next book is out there and will come to me soon enough.
Hahaha that is the TRUTH, we go through 6-8 peppers a week, and so it’s not like these plants were really my key supply. But – as you know – they don’t touch the jalapenos and I have quite a few of those.
The Names is just SO well written, which means the abuse is so real and upsetting!
I’m more eager to read your DNFs Nicole because you save me from even opening it! and I’ll definitely add good people to my TBR!
I haven’t had a visitor for ages, how exciting! what do you usually do with guests?
I’m super excited! Definitely a wine tasting will be in the cards. I also love to cook for people, so am looking forward to that!
I thought The Names was so, so good…though the abuse was really rough. I also loved Good People, and discussed the ending with Engie and Maya, who were both pretty sure of the guilt or non-guilt, though they were on opposite sides of that question.
I’ve given up on growing vegetables, we don’t get enough sun and we have too many squirrels. I love the flowers you put in that bed instead though, they’re gorgeous.
Thank you! I grew them from seed and they have turned out so nicely!
Now I am so curious where people land on the ending of Good People (I vote not guilty). I am talking about it tomorrow in my books from July because it was MY FAVOURITE FICTION READ OF THE MONTH. So good. So compelling. And it is a book I’m going to think about for a long, long time. It could definitely end up being my favourite book of 2026.
I am practically glowing that you liked it (I know we don’t have 100% overlap).
Lisa told me The Names wasn’t a safe read for me. I hate reading about abuse so very much, so while I’ve heard it’s well written, I just… couldn’t. That and when Lisa tells me not to read a book, I listen 🙂
That is a lot of tomatoes. Do you make your own salsa??
If you hate reading about abuse, do NOT read The Names! It’s just so well written that it is extremely disturbing.
I don’t like canning, so usually I’ll roast the tomatoes and freeze them. I do like making pico de gallo!
I love it when parents get creative with baby names. Like Ma and Pa Jung naming their son Carl, and probably knowing he’d one day have a bottles of (non-alcoholic) wine named after him. So very cool.
One of my colleagues at work was called Gamma – and yes, she had two older sisters called Alpha and Beta.
Another school mate’s name was Martin. His last name was also Martin. So he went through life as “Martin Martin”. Genius!
Maybe the troublemakers in your garden are Ratatouille’s cousins? He told them to get some juicy peppers for his latest gourmet creation but they forgot all about the assignment and got in a fight. And destroyed your garden in the process.
Have a wonderful week with your visitors!
Martin Martin. Wow. Gamma and Alpha and Beta. Those are some names that would really stay with a person. My son had a classmate named Ulysses, and he had an older brother who was Apollo. It feels like a real statement to give a baby those names.
Maybe they ARE Ratatouille’s cousins! That’s a fun way to think about it!
Ewww – rats! 🐀 Inthink you should buy one of those little security cameras to set up and nab the culprit! We are infested with rabbits in my Calgary neighborhood and they’ve eaten my hosts and I think my yarrow. It also makes for interesting dog walks as my doodle loses her mind. I counted 7 yesterday!!
OMG Anna, when we were in Calgary we were overrun by rabbits and squirrels. The rabbits stayed out of our Barkley-smelling backyard for the most part, but they sure enjoyed munching on the front garden! I can’t believe they ate your yarrow!! Little bastards!
Sounds like it’s time for a wildlife camera! My husband put one on my garden and we caught a fox going in there and peeing. Maybe add a 2-ft layer of fine mesh around the bottom of the fence? I also DNF’d The Kiss Quotient. For me it was the spiciness level, I usually don’t shy away from such things but it was really graphic!
It was so spicy! And right from the get-go. We have a camera around the house, which is how we caught a few bears going through our recycling bin a few years back! But maybe we need a little camera in the garden. Who knows what kind of parties those animals are getting up to!
Can you imagine going around with Carl Jung as your name? AND you’re a winemaker??
Omg, rats. Another reason not to garden. Thank you, Nicole! 🤣
I live but to serve, Kari!
I mean, imagine introducing yourself. Hi, I’m Carl Jung.
Ok, completely unrelated, but one of my friends shared this info today and I though you should know this (and if you already know I apologise) : Wrocław (Poland) is the city of gnomes. It all started with the Sisyphus gnomes (bottom picture) in 2001. Now there are over 400 (and still more appear every year). They even have their own festival in September!
I did learn that recently but I did not know about the festival! Well, now I need to go there. Life goals! Thank you Elinoora!
The rats at our place ate all the tomatoes, but not the capsicums, but I have a netting system now on my tomato bed, so it should be all good for next year. The rats also ate all of my mandarins, well, all except a couple on one of the trees that they didn’t touch for some reason. So annoying! I put Good People on my TBR when Engie recommended it, but I’m 14th on the reserve list and I doubt I will get it before we go to Germany so I will probably need to suspend my hold until we get back.
Argh, that is very annoying both on the rat front and on the library queue front. I put so many books on pause when we were travelling that I had an absolute flood when we got back. Now the flood is a trickle!
I’m so sorry about the peppers. I adore them too — just for snacks or stuffed with tuna salad, rather than using bread! My little tomatoes are just coming in. I see a caprese salad in my future! Maybe a few.
It’s too bad but I’ve learned my lesson: hot peppers only! I can get the rest at the grocery store or farm market!
Your garden is beautiful, rats be damned! Rats are a problem in my city, they commonly close city playgrounds to clear out infestations. So yucky, they grow to be so large and are very, very bold.
Oh wow, that IS a problem! Yikes!!
Your tomatoes are lovely! You are brave. If I knew a rat or even a mouse came near my garden I wouldn’t go back in. I’m a chicken and they gross me out!
Hahaha I don’t think of myself as very brave so thank you!
Your Zinnias look wonderful, mine are pathetic. Something is eaten them. First it was the rabbits, so I put cages around my plants and solved that problem; but now it must be bugs of some sort, though I see nothing on it; but lots of holes in the leaves, and they’re simply not growing, not getting taller, hardly blooming. So discouraging. Maybe you’re having rabbits too, do rats eat produce? I recently finished The Names as well, and had very mixed opinion of it. I don’t think the idea of a different has anything to do with ones personality, so the premise didn’t sit well with me. And like you the domestic violence was very bothersome to me
We don’t have rabbits here, and we have the garden fenced off, so it would have to be a pretty small rodent to get through. Ah, the ups and downs of gardening! Yes, I was also mixed on the Names – on the one hand, it was beautifully written. On the other, the domestic violence was SO hard to read.
I really think Carl Jung the winemaker needs to lean into his name a bit more. I’m not punny enough to figure out HOW he should do so, only that he should.
I’m sad The Kiss Quotient didn’t work for you, but I also very much understand! Plus, our rading tastes don’t usually align so it didn’t surprise me that it was a DNF for you, especially being a spicy romance.
I also loved Good People and had a great time discussing the ending with a friend. There’s a lot to sift through!
I will save the spiciness for you, my friend! However, I will never not be excited that there is a book about a sexy econometrician. I love it! Even if it wasn’t for me.
Oh, to be drowning in tomatoes! That harvest would find me roasting and freezing, and eating the cherry tomatoes like candies from an office dish. THERE CAN NEVER BE TOO MANY TOMATOES FOR ME, EVER.
I wonder if your plant murderers are bunnies, not rats. We have a great many bunnies around here, and they lay waste to a great many things (this is why I had to buy a fake owl and give up planting dill forever). They also like to eat the tulip buds (so do squirrels), decimating future tulips.
The Names kept getting recommended to me, but while I liked its premise, I knew it would be a tough read for me. I passed.
Enjoy your upcoming visits! I just know you’re a terrific host.
Roasting and freezing is something that happens here too! I don’t like canning, and roasted are better. The cherry tomatoes are just like candy! I love my bumper crop.
Strangely enough we don’t have bunnies here AND we have a big fence, so I’m afraid the only thing that can get in is a rodent. Well, voles too, but they can’t get into the raised beds due to the rock layers.
NERD!!! *I’m laughing so hard!* Thank you for that.
“rat frat party”—I mean, what the hell is happening out there? I think you should set up a camera because this mystery needs to be solved.
Your tall zinnias are so lovely. If that MoFo starts eating them, I’m gonna come up there myself!
Enjoy your friends! (Although I’m so behind, you might have already enjoyed them!)
I am seriously considering a camera! At least I would know what was going on!
I’m glad you liked Sunshine Nails, too. I’m a sucker for Asian immigrant stories, even before I met my daughter-in-law. We have a terrible time with critters in our garden, especially chipmunks. They will dig up every seed planted. And we also have a massive groundhog that has given suspicious vibes when I see him lounging on our property. You would laugh at our pitiful ‘harvest.’ We will likely have a sum total of 3 zucchini and 2 yellow squash this year. And maybe 2 cups worth of cherry tomatoes. The only thing in abundance are the herbs, but how many can I actually use in the average dinner?
I absolutely love stories about the immigrant experience. The strength of character it takes to come to a new country to build a new life…it’s astonishing. I often think what it would be like to start over, from scratch, without much knowledge of the culture or language. It’s really incredible and I, like you, can never get enough of them!
Boo, I’m sorry about your garden. I know what you mean, my basil is insanely huge and honestly I just don’t need this much basil! I try to give a lot of it away.