I think I could be a pioneer. At the very least, I think I have made my pioneer ancestors proud of me this week. We have a garden plot through the city. Someday, I hope to live in a place where we can garden in our own back yard like most of America, but for now, we rent a city plot for $40 per year. So like I was saying, we have a garden. Donovan and I have spent every day at the garden this week. We're getting it ready to plant on Saturday. I have spent hours pulling weeds, tilling the ground and mulching. And ask my how I tilled the ground... With a motorized garden tiller? Oh, no! With my own two hands and a manual shovel. See, I'm just like a pioneer! And I did all of this with a baby tied to my back, just like the pioneers. Ok, so maybe the baby wasn't tied to my back, but he was crying and I had to run after him so much that maybe it would have been easier if I had just tied him to my back. Plus, I had to make sure he stayed out of the road and away from the trash bins, so maybe I'm a little tougher than a pioneer because I bet they never had to do that. Another thing I bet pioneers never had to deal with: Having the person who gardened there before them plant a giant square of fabric sided vinyl under their plot. I had to pull it up. And since it has been there at least a year, I had to pull it up piece by piece because it kept breaking. After it had been weeded and tilled, I mulched it. Now, I wasn't sure so much what "mulch" was, but Scott assured me that it is mainly rotting leaves and plants and that there was no manure whatsoever in that mulch. Well.... I think he lied to me because today, when I was hauling several thousand pounds of mulch to the garden plot, I got the distict scent of manure. And I'm kind of an expert on manure, seeing how I've spent countless hours at the farm lately. Anywho, I smelled manure, and this was AFTER I allowed my baby to climb up the mulch pile. But, unfortunately it was also before I accidentally ate some, so when it was in my mouth, I knew exactly what it was. I bet the pioneers never had to endure that! At least I bet they were smart enough never to do that. Or, they had husbands who flat out told them that there was manure in the mulch. After the mulching, I got into my car, which currently has no air conditioning and drove home. See? Me=Pioneer.