Note to groundhog: I shared my peas with you. I offered you bolted lettuce, fallen apples and past-its-prime spinach. Why did you have to devour my beet greens? They were so lush. Well, you can't get to them now. We've covered them with coated wire. Yes, I know that some leaves stick out of the wire. I know that you can stand on the wire and chew the leaf tips. But maybe you won't. And stay away from the carrots. How about a nice weed instead?

If you garden, you have to live with these little heartbreaks. The plants that you tended, babied, weeded and cajoled can be mowed down in a single sad night. The cucumber vine that's vibrant and healthy one day, wilted and lifeless the next. Already I've seen squash bugs and striped cucumber beetles, two of my biggest enemies. This is an organic garden. Sometimes we spray with insecticidal soap, but we prefer not to. Besides, it's been way too rainy to bother.

What we try to do is plant enough to share -- and lose. For certain vegetables, we plant a second crop. I just sowed some squash and cucumber seeds where the peas were. It's early so we'll get a crop in September. Sometimes the second batch of squash produces more than the first. That scares some people but not me.

Another thing we do is borrow from the neighbors. If I've got beets (albeit topless), it's a cinch that neighbor Michael Stetser does, too. He grows organic vegetables to sell at the Waynesburg and Morgantown farmers markets.

He agreed I could "borrow" a few beets. Picking basket in hand, David and I walked up the hill to one of Michael's productive gardens. The one with the great view.

We picked some beets, looking for ones with the best leaves because I wanted to make Mario Batali's Beet Green Soup. The attached beets were tiny, marble-sized and, I'm sure, sweet. Another meal.

If purchasing beets for this soup, 1 to 1 1/2 big bunches should provide enough greens.

Beet Green Soup

PG tested

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 to 3 large knobby spring onions (with some greens), halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick, or 1 large onion
• 3 cloves garlic, mince 2 cloves, cut one in half
• 1 pound new-dug potatoes, scrubbed, or 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (Chef Batali uses more)
• 4 cups sliced loosely packed beet greens ( 1/2-inch ribbons)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 slices Italian peasant bread, toasted

In Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add onion and minced garlic. Cook; stirring often, until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add potatoes, salt, crushed red pepper; stir well. Add beet greens; stir just until wilted.

Add 4 cups water; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Drizzle toast with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Rub with cut sides of halved garlic. Put in 4 soup plates; ladle soup over.

Makes 4 servings (2 if a main dish).

-- Adapted from "Molto Italiano" by Mario Batali (HarperCollins, 2005)