The Garden Gate

When I first planted one of my small gardens, I had no intentions of fencing it. The many rabbits in our yard soon made me change my mind and out came posts and wire. My son worked all one day and soon had a very nice fence around the entire garden. Then he turned to me and asked for the gate so he could hang it. Oops! I had forgotten the gate! Not to be daunted by such a mere technicality, I proceeded to tell him that we were going to make one. He stared at me blankly, shook his head and grabbed his hammer. Rummaging around in the wood pile, we found an old door that had the top portion missing. Deciding this was the perfect beginning for a gate, we scrounged, sawed and hammered our way into a perfectly wonderful old garden gate! I love it! He thinks it looks ridiculous! Sure, it is lopsided and scratched. Sure, it is unpainted and has odd pieces nailed to it. Sure, it has a wire dragonfly tacked on it. But I love it!

Today is the Fourth of July! As I opened the gate to the garden, an idea hit me. I should decorate the garden gate for each holiday! I hurried inside to find a suitable ornament for the gate. A metal flag with "I love America" and some wooden stars were perfect. I headed out back to the garden again with my finds. I think the gate looks beautiful. My son never questions his mother's strange ideas. I love it!

Happy Fourth of July! Celebrate freedom with family and friends, have a picnic or cookout, sing patriotic songs, wave the American flag and watch the firework displays, but in all of this find the time to thank those that give us this freedom. Pray that all our soldiers will come home safely and soon. America is truly the land of the free because of the brave. Thank you to all our brave Military folks that protect this wonderful land.