Natural Perspectives:

Vic went to Oregon last week to visit his mother and a couple of his eight siblings. With our garden in full production, I stayed home to “mind the farm.” I also had a hidden agenda.

As soon as I dropped Vic off at John Wayne Airport, I headed to a camera store and bought a new Nikon Coolpix P90, a 12-megapixel digital camera with 24x optical zoom and a terrific macro feature.

I couldn’t wait to try it out, so my next stop was the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. I tried to catch birds in flight, but the field of view was so small that I couldn’t get the birds framed and focused in time.

Once again, my attempts to photograph birds in flight were met with failure. But that was only my first time using the camera.

I didn’t know how to use the “sports” feature, which shoots at a gazillion frames per second to freeze the action. I may yet master the art of photographing birds in flight. However, I suspect that the fault lies with the photographer, not the equipment.

Next, I took my new camera into our backyard, where I photographed bees, bugs and flowers.

The macro feature was a knockout. I could see the bristles on the legs of flies and individual pollen grains on the backs of bees. I was so excited about the possibilities of my new purchase that I e-mailed Vic. Since I had not discussed this purchase with him beforehand, he was caught unaware.

His e-mailed response, a la Ricky Ricardo, was, “Lucy, you got some ‘splainin’ to do when I get home.” He’s so funny.

My next outing with the camera was a junket with Joanne Rasmussen to look at the community gardens in Seal Beach.

Joanne is spearheading a movement to start a community garden in Huntington Beach.

The garden committee, of which Vic and I are members, has been working for almost two months now.

We’re still looking at possible sites, with three good possibilities. We’re writing our bylaws and are about to select our first officers and board of directors.

If you’d like to get involved, or want a plot once we have the garden up and running, send an e-mail to Joanne at [email protected].

Joanne and I headed over to Seal Beach. I was in awe of those tidy, productive plots: zucchini plants as tall as my hips, artichokes up to my armpits and tomato vines sprawling abundantly. I can hardly wait to get a community garden up and growing in Huntington Beach.

I came home and looked at my own garden in dismay. It’s as though someone were choking the life out of my scrawny plants. Most of my garden just doesn’t get enough sun. And I could fertilize more often, using organic fertilizers, of course. But some things are doing well. I picked 80 tomatoes this week, and my sunflowers are more than 9 feet tall.

The period of Vic’s absence went by quickly for me as I worked in my garden and took photographs. I wondered just how upset he might be at my camera purchase, given that I have a perfectly good Canon D30. My new Nikon will not replace the Canon, but it’s a wonderful addition to my photographic gear bag. I wondered if I would really have to ‘splain’ my impulsive purchase.

Using Lucy Ricardo logic, I came up with a solution: distraction! Counteract a purchase that he might disapprove of with a purchase of something for him.

I had the perfect thing in mind. The laptop that Vic uses for his PowerPoint lectures in class is so old it runs on steam. It wouldn’t surprise me if it had vacuum tubes inside instead of transistors. We’ve been looking for a new laptop for some time but just hadn’t gotten around to buying one. The day before Vic was due home, I bought him a new laptop. I unpacked it and set it up so he would see it as soon as he came home. I was just about ready for his return. But I had one more thing to do.

Vic and I have an arrangement that works for us. I cook; he cleans. My lack of housekeeping skills is legendary. If we waited for me to get around to doing the dishes, the dirty ones would be overflowing into the dining room and spilling into the family room. If I were both chief cook and bottle-washer, I’d have to stop cooking because I would run out of pots and pans.

With the garden in full production, I cooked the whole time Vic was gone. But I hadn’t washed one single dish or pan. Uh oh. The kitchen was a disaster zone.

I scurried about shortly before his plane was due to land and got the kitchen in tip-top shape. Dishes washed and put away, clutter cleaned up, counter tops cleared. I even swept the kitchen floor. I was quite pleased with myself.

Vic was thrilled with his new laptop. He never said a word about my new camera. And when he saw the clean kitchen, he was really pleased. At least at first. Then it hit him.

Vic pointed to the clean pans in the dish rack and said accusingly, “There’s been another man in my kitchen!” He really is funny.

VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected] .