Perspective

I went out this morning and pulled up some of the carrots from this fall's planting.

Look great don't they? Sweet, tender and tasty.  And the smell...wonderful.

But look again.

The viewer might have assumed I had full sized carrots, a successful crop. 

But by placing my hand in the picture, you now realize that I have fairly small crop.  Immature.  (I planted them too late in the season.)  To me, this was an unsuccessful crop but it holds promise because I can see that the roots are long...I know it can be done.  I know I can grow mature carrots given the proper time.  And experience.

So, size/quantity matters in considering whether a crop has been successful.  But perspective also matters.

Consider this.  Many people, myself among them, purchased those little skinless, orange stumps they call "baby carrots."  I saw the "light" a few years ago and started purchasing normal sized carrots, which were not only cheaper, but better tasting and (no doubt) more nutritious for me than the designer carrots.  Some people might find the big carrots tough and time consuming so they opt instead for the easy, ready to eat baby carrots.  It's all a matter of perspective.

Perspective. It's one of those words that can mean different things to different people and different situations. 

While I was out picking the carrots I looked around...sizing up my back yard for future garden expansion.

(Thank you Wikipedia)

Perspective

Literally, the way in which objects appear to the eye.


Metaphorically, in relation to cognitive topics, one's "point of view", the choice of a context for opinions, beliefs and experiences.

Point of view (literature), the related experience of the narrator.


Perspective (psychological), or wisdom.

When I'm standing there looking at it, I feel that I've got a small backyard. My perspective is off because I'm looking at the whole package, the house, the neighbors house, the trees, the sky.  It all seems very small to me. 

And then I load up theses pictures for the blog and look at them and I think..."Holy Crap...this is a big yard.  Look at all that space!"

I can easily triple my garden size on this side of the yard alone.  I'm not even counting the other areas in my back yard where I plan to plant some beds for additional produce.  Pumpkin/winter squash patch in the back and along the other side a long raised bed for anything the bunnies won't eat.  (Thankfully, no deer yet.)

This is what makes gardening so interesting to me.  This "year over year" comparison we make, gaining perspective (wisdom) in discovering what works for me, may not work for you. What worked this year will fall flat next year. Fun isn't it?