My fellow citizens of The Garden, we have endured the treachery and oppression of Gaia and her troops for far too long. We shall never forget the Winter of Season One when her troops invaded our territory and killed our plants. We shall never forget Basil who heroically gave of himself even up to the point when the enemy had him in their choking grasp. We remember the two innocent Bell Pepper seedlings who were killed long before they could have fruitful lives. We remember the survivors of the attacks who are forever scarred by the memories of those events.

As we vow never to forget the harm Gaia and her troops have done in the past, we also vow to have a more watchful eye on our enemies. For the past few months, we have tried to live in symbiotic peace. Even as we watched each day as her weeds and tall grasses tried to infiltrate our ranks, we tried to find diplomatic solutions to our differences.

Citizens of The Garden, after an extensive and painful study by my allergist, we have determined that while we were trying to find peaceful co-existence with Gaia, she had been developing biochemical weapons with the clear intent of using it against us. With this information, I, as your General, have decided that the time for diplomacy has passed and that the time for action is now.

Earlier this morning, I had ordered the troops to conduct Operation Pluck and Awe — a preemptive incursion into Gaia’s territory with the clear mission of destroying any and all strategic military targets she may have. Though our troops face large concentrations of allergens along with the possible threat of ants, spiders, and unidentified bugs, I am confident that we shall be victorious.

The Garden [RTS] is once again at war. It is a war we did not choose to have, but a war we nonetheless shall win. May The Flying Spaghetti Monster’s Noodley Appendage bless you, and may The Flying Spaghetti Monster’s Noodley Appendage bless The Garden.

The Wedding Video Project

A few days after Emmanuel’s graduation video was posted, I was volunteered to do my cousin’s wedding slide-show video. Having practically grown up with him, this was something I knew I’d enjoy doing. More than that, however, I knew I’d enjoy razzing his bride-to-be about the possibly hilarious (to me, anyway) musical selection that would eventually accompany the slide show. “So, which songs from Dr. Dre’s ‘The Chronic’ will I be using?” “What do you mean I can’t use ‘Never Gonna Give You Up?’ Lyrically, it’s very appropriate.” “We all grew up in the hair-band era so Motley Crue should work, right?”

Gathering The Data

After a couple of months worth of that, we finally got around to getting together to start on the video project. Herb was kind enough to scan the pictures himself and hand them to me digitally as opposed to giving me a bunch of prints. That helped out quite a bit. Over the phone, I requested that he scan them at a resolution of at lest 300dpi and save them as TIF as opposed to jpeg. This would ensure that the images are of a decent quality in case I needed to manipulate them further.

From the image files he had, he labeled the most important ones that had to be used in the video. These were pictures of heightened sentimental value and needed to be included no matter what. The remaining images were basically “dealer’s choice” – pictures to sprinkle on wherever I feel they needed to go.

The Narrative

After looking through the pictures, I asked what I felt was the most important question at that point: “what’s the narrative?” He looked at me and said “good question.” I explained that I could move pixels around to background music with no problem but having a message to convey would give the video purpose.

From the pictures I was supplied, we decided to go with a general message of two families coming together. I told him that I planned to do the bride’s side first, his (our) side next, and then pictures of them together to conclude.

I then asked what the projected video length should be and we decided to shoot for 5 to 7 minutes. I explained that any more and we may bore the audience.

Speaking of which, I wanted to verify what the audience demographic is. As most weddings go, the age range is quite diverse and contained young children which pretty much ruled out a soundtrack containing anything from Snoop or Nine Inch Nails.

Initial intel gathered, the project went to its next phase…The Soundtrack (to be continued)

I have come to the conclusion that In The Garden, Harvest is not a given day. It is not a single time designated for swinging a reaper’s scythe against unwilling crops; it is not the imagery of one final moment spent gathering everything and separating wheat from chaff. Since flowers bloom and fruits ripen at different rates, Harvest is about gathering what is ready and patiently waiting for those who need more time. With pruning shears, I am The Garden’s Atropos.

Many tomatoes have been harvested from the vine with many more to come from Clotho’s spool. Lachesis has been generous in measuring the few zucchini that attained the ultimate glory in the sacrificial fires of the summer season. The Fates have shown mercy but it is clear that they do not hold me in their favor. As battle continues, my consolation is that the troops and I are still able to fight, even as the gods conspire against us.

Having been deprived of the Greek gods’ full cooperation, I sought the gardening wisdom of the Roman Goddess Pomona. I came as a gardener to seek her sympathy and she ignored me. I came as a warrior to gain her trust through prestige and she turned away. Finally, I came as myself and she agreed to help. With Helios’ Solar Gaze feeling more like a Wrathful Stare, I hope the newfound alliance brings aid.

The Tomatoes are doing well and require more pruning. The Zucchini may also be growing too quickly for their own good. The Peppers are slowly ripening. Bell Pepper from Season One has two fruits growing. Basil is flourishing and is stubbornly trying to flower. Rosemary continues its fragrant growth. The Chives have doubled in size in the partial sun. Lettuce seeds gathered and sown have sprouted seedlings. Even the Marigolds are continuing to flower.

The Garden continues to grow. The soldiers show great fervor, proving that they are indeed ready for combat. The General, however, sees what his troops do not yet see. He sees Gaia’s army forming ranks. He knows that soon, Helios will show no mercy. To him, the upcoming battle’s outcome is yet uncertain, but one thing is clear: courage and perseverance will lead to a glorious victory.

It was in early summer in the late 1890′s back when the land now occupied by the current library was mostly trees when a strange occurance happened. Damien Matthews, Rush McComas and a few of their friends had just gotten back from a visit to Mr. Tonner’s house down on Fifth Street (now Mission Blvd. where the Pomona Police Station stands).

Having been entertained by Tonner’s recitation of prose and verse, the children departed to enjoy the cool ocean breeze brought in from the coast over by the orange groves. When they arrived, they found an old
lady in her early thirties along with her dog sitting underneath a tree, reading a book. As little boys often do, they picked up small oranges that had fallen from the trees and started to throw them at the old woman and her dog much to her annoyance.

When one orange struck her in the head, she stood up, slowly enough to make sure the boys did not run away. She pointed at them with her finger, hand shaking from age, and with a loud, shrill voice, she yelled
“You who dare disturb the tranquility of these grounds, the best place I have found in all of Pomona to read a book in peace and enjoy the pleasant winds on a summer afternoon…YOU — may you and the generations after you find the same peace, and find the same cool ocean breeze on this ground…but NEVER at the same time.”

As she sat back down to read, the cool breeze ceased and the boys had to walk a long distance away to find a cool spot to relax. As they turned back, the old lady and her dog had disappeared.