The Winter Rose of the Deep South

  Raking about an acre of yard is not an easy task!  I have been at this chore for the past couple of weeks...well, that and weeding the gardens, digging up bulbs and taking down dead trees.  It is hard work but well worth the effort.  Stuff has been let go long enough so I figure if I wanted it done, I needed to do it myself.  The guys of the household are busy revamping the trailer that hauls "Big Red", the tractor so they are not interested in swishing leaves around the yard.  I do not mind as it gives me good exercise and time to ponder.  

  On the west side of the house are two rather stately camellia bushes.  They have been there since Mark and I married so many hundreds of years ago (actually 38 years ago to be honest!)  My Aunt Marie and Uncle Alfred gave us the two bushes as a wedding gift and they have stood strong through thick and thin (sort of like our marriage!)  The bushes have been scorched by a house fire, swamped by hurricane flood waters. been completely buried under ten feet of hurricane debris and even had a tree fall on top of them at one point.  They are still blooming and still gorgeous!  Each disaster saw them come back stronger than before.  I have been clearing out vines and weeds from under the bushes and was surprised to find two seedlings among the mess.  These will be potted for Darling Daughter and hopefully will give her as many years of happiness as our have for us!

  It was under those camellia bushes that I found the "rose-petal carpet".  While this not truly accurate, the camellias are the "winter rose" of the Deep South.  With their saucer sized blooms that have a habit of appearing late December and lingering through February, camellias used to adorn every yard. Bright profusions of pink, red and white could be seen next to screen porches on every street.  Then with the disappearance of front-porch-sitting, so went the camellias.  Now, they seem to be making a comeback!  More folks are opting for screen porches instead of open decks and camellias, jasmine, gardenias and magnolias will soon follow!  There is just something comforting about that thought.  My pondering of life-as-it-use-to-be made the task of clearing the fallen camellia blooms a lot more pleasant.