Call me what you will, but this is the second year I am boning up on my gardening skillz and planting a garden, Victory Garden-style. I think things are going to get much worse in the economic sense, and I have a big enough yard to support a bunch of fruits, vegetables, and flowers for decor. By the way, although flowers are not immediately consumable as food, I decided to plant those anyway — they cheer me up!

I have already planted radishes, onions, basil, rosemary, bell peppers, parsley, cilantro, pickling cucumbers, squash, cherry tomatoes … marigolds, petunias, crocuses, daffodils. Still have to plant Roma tomatoes, more cucumbers, currant bushes, climbing roses, maybe a lime tree.

We’ve also trimmed the tree that’s been hanging over part of the yard, so now there’s plenty of sun for tomatoes.

So why am I doing all this? I want to be prepared for the impending collapse in the quality of life in the US as we know it. I’ve lives in many countries, multiple cultures … NEVER have I seen the excesses that I’ve witnessed during the last 8 years — someone’s gotta pony up to pay for them.

At least I’ll have a tomato to chew on when the time comes.