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You are here: Home / gardening / X is for X Factor #AtoZChallenge

X is for X Factor #AtoZChallenge

April 28, 2015 by admin

Three days left for the AtoZ Challenge! *pant pant pant* We can do this!

***

No, I’m not writing about the television show. I know nothing about it. I thought it was the show Susan Boyle rose to fame on, but apparently that’s Britain’s Got Talent.

The X Factor, before Google searches were taken over by the television show, was (and still is) that unknown factor, a mysterious quality.

In the garden, I can plant something in the best possible conditions, and it doesn’t produce or under-produces. Last year my beets were a disappointment, and for some odd reason I’ve only produced a handful of carrots. On the flip side, I can ignore a plant and have it thrive in spite of me. I seem to have a proliferation of leeks in the front yard, and I don’t know why. I don’t even remember planting them.

The X Factor humbles. It reminds me that, clearly, I am not in charge. I can do my best, and learn all I can, but the garden always surprises me.

It’s part of the fun, I think. I kind of like not knowing. The guessing, the problem solving, the challenge, keeps me coming back year after year to grow things.

I don’t write to be a bestseller. I write because I’m a happier person when I write. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t want an audience. It’s been a lot of fun this month with the AtoZ Challenge, to have so many people engage with me on this blog. I’m not going to lie and say that doesn’t matter to me.

With my garden, I keep planting. Some plants don’t make it…but some do. Whatever we’re doing in life, we owe it to ourselves to keep going. After this blog challenge is over, I’ll continue to blog and continue to engage with other bloggers. When we keep planting seeds, something grows.

One never knows when the X Factor will kick in.

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Filed Under: gardening, writing

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Stepheny Houghtlin
Stepheny Houghtlin
7 years ago

Just came in from the garden checking on things and found your X factor in charge. A few things did not survive a cold North Carolina winter, but, thankfully, everything else is happy. Writing and gardening, the perfect combination.

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Stepheny Houghtlin

Congrats on having most of your plants make it through the winter! I know it was a rough one for you over there in NC.

I do think gardening and writing go together…though this week, still playing catch-up from a trip, the two are really duking it out for my attention!

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gwynnrogers
gwynnrogers
7 years ago

Since I’m not a gardener, my x-factor will be weeds. The funny part is that in our garden, the owner of the house had planted some herbs with some blueberries thrown in. I had been cleaning out the garden working diligently to pull out the “sticker” bushes only to learn they were blueberry plants… oops! I’m learning too about the unknown that pops up.

I am enjoying the friends that pop-up along the way too. Now those, I’ll work at nourishing and NOT pulling out of the soil to discard! I do enjoy your posts.

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  gwynnrogers

Ooops! My protagonist in my novel does that…not blueberries specifically, but she decides to weed and starts pulling up real plants she thought was dead.

The friendships during this challenge have been the biggest and best surprise. It’s been so much fun!

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cleemckenzie
cleemckenzie
7 years ago

I’m a gardner as well, and I always am flummoxed by this factor. What thrives one year won’t even poke its head out of the ground the next. I’ve learned to go with the flow and accept.

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  cleemckenzie

Yes, that’s the best we can do!

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J.L. Campbell
J.L. Campbell
7 years ago

Hi, Nadine,

You and I wrote on the same subject today! We never know when or how …

J.L. Campbell – The Character Depot | A-Z Challenge Co-Host

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  J.L. Campbell

Great minds think alike!

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kimberleycooperblog
kimberleycooperblog
7 years ago

I’m going to keep blogging too. Having had a taste this month, I’ve decided I like it! And the company I work for is embracing social media too, so I’ve got work targets around Tweeting, so I need all the practice I can get.

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  kimberleycooperblog

All right! I will continue to follow your blog, so I look forward to future posts!

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Mary Aalgaard
Mary Aalgaard
7 years ago

Amen, sister. You’ve said it all correctly. I think with the plant life, though, the X-factor could be singing Willie’s favorite song. It adds the cheer!
Play off the Page

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Mary Aalgaard

It does, doesn’t it? It made me chuckle when I realized what I was doing. I absolutely love your blog! It’s funny, touching, and always interesting.

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Ula
Ula
7 years ago

I have to completely agree with you on this. Keep going. This challenge has been fun, if a bit exhausting.

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Ula

Exhausting is a good word…but satisfying. I’m so glad I found your blog!

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vrein11
vrein11
7 years ago

Love this post! I agree with you on the garden things, I too am enjoying writing and connecting with so many new and fun people, and that X factor!! hahahaa!!! No good beets for us last year either!!

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  vrein11

Thanks! It’s been a great month…so glad I did this. Let’s hope for lot of beets this year!

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Michelle Wallace
Michelle Wallace
7 years ago

I also chose the X-factor for my flash fiction.
The letter X is quite difficult…

This year (my 5th A to Z Challenge) has been the most exhausting.
I didn’t meet as many new bloggers as I did in previous years. That’s because I didn’t get around as much.
But I still enjoyed it! 🙂

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Michelle Wallace

Wow, you’ve done this for five years? I am so impressed!

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Barbara In Caneyhead
Barbara In Caneyhead
7 years ago

I know carrots don’t seem to like SE Texas soil, but my husbands best success with them was when he made sure to build up a finely tilled bed a foot or so deep for them to grow in. They were paler than the grocery store variety. And still a little crooked. But they were by far the sweetest carrots I have ever tasted! I think it is impossible to garden and not believe in a Creator. ~ The end is in sight!!! ~ Visit me at: Life & Faith in Caneyhead I am Ensign B of Tremps’ Troops with… Read more »

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Barbara In Caneyhead

I totally agree, Barbara. The garden is filled with too many miracles. When I think about how a tiny seed ends up a monster tomato plant that feeds us for months, I cannot fathom a world without a Creator.

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lisabuiecollard
lisabuiecollard
7 years ago

I agree with you, the x-factor keeps life, my garden and my writing thrilling and frustrating at the same time! Lisa, co-host AtoZ 2015, @ http://www.lisabuiecollard.com

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  lisabuiecollard

I guess the yin and yang of thrilling and frustrating is partly what keeps us going. At some level, I think we crave it.

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