A moment of silence for my carrots . . .

A few weeks ago, I planted some carrot seeds for my fall garden. (I've never planted vegetables from seed before; I always buy starts.) The instructions said that when they sprout, I was supposed to "thin to 1 inch."

So here is my pot of carrot sprouts. A nice, lush, verdant green. As I sat down to begin my thinning, I found myself struggling mightily with what I was about to do. I was plucking the infant tender sprouts right out of their cozy soil bed. I felt like a monster. What if THIS particular sprout was destined to be the yummiest carrot of the bunch? Oh, the agony of the choice.

Here's what I ended up with. Looking at it, I feel remorseful and a bit broken inside. Sure, I know it was necessary for the ultimate fulfillment of the carrot garden. And yet, I still ponder the lost vegetation that I callously tossed into the compost pile - never to reach its full potential in my salad bowl.

I did find some solace - some compassionate sympathy for my tortured soul - on Google. This website assured, "Gardeners know they should thin vegetables, yet it's very difficult to destroy the very plants they’ve worked so hard to grow. Remember, it is for their good as well as yours."

It's nice to know that I'm not the only gardener to struggle with this life-or-death decision.

Oh, the circle of life. So deep. So fragile.

(And NO, this is NOT an analogy for any sort of abortion debate. This was merely about vegetables.)