I've been saying for a while that my garden soil is clay. Not pure clay, or else even the hardy plants I manage to grow wouldn't survive.

But when the same corn that grew head-high in all of my other gardens fights to grow just four measly feet up at the barn, I have to face reality.

And here is that reality: the very same soil that produced this (not too shabby) plot of green also produced this little bowl. All I did was take a shovelful of dirt from the corn patch, add water and stir. It congealed, clung together so well that I rolled it into a fat strand. That held together so well, I coiled it into a pot.

My friend has a kiln and offered to fire this little bit of garden produce but so far, I've declined. I mean, what if it worked? That would be just too disheartening. So I'll settle for this, a rude, raw vessel that I fill it with sunflower seeds for the birds.