The eggplants are trying to kill me.

Turns out, it’s nothing personal; just a defense mechanism.

All nightshades have little hairs—think of how a tomato plant leaf feels fuzzy to the touch—that dislodge when the plant is moved around.

The scientific name for these small structures is trichomes. Not only do these hairs make it harder for insects or mites to reach cells in the plant leaf, but they also cause sneezing and throats to become sensitive when inhaled.

Yet, nature takes its course.

After falling victim to a few sneeze attacks caused by four hours in close proximity to hundreds of eggplants, you take a hiatus to pick some capsicums and, in doing so, disturb a cockroach family’s Christmas.