Just A Trim

  I am slowly getting back into the "have a dog" mode.  Fostering PJ has brought back a lot of memories of Ms. Ezzy, the Bayou Dog and has changed my lackadaisical attitude back to the mentality of a responsible pet owner.  After Ms. Ezzy died but before Mr. PJ came to live at the Little Bayou House, I had gotten out of the habit of walking through the gardens in the evening.  The last hike of the day usually found me just going to the pier to watch the sunset.  Now that the dog is with me, I take longer hikes and find myself enjoying the gardens more.  PJ seems to like sniffing the blooms as much as I do. 

  This evening, as we came back up the hill from the pier, the old dog and I made our way through the vegetable patch, through the garden gate and out to the fig trees.  There a raised herb garden had suffered greatly because of the copious amounts of rainfall this summer.  While the herbs looked a bit ragged, a sweet scent enveloped us.  The Four-O'clocks were in full bloom.  Yep, by this time of summer, those, too should have looked a little worse for wear but, instead, they were gorgeous.  This made me smile and the old dog and I stopped to smell the blossoms.

  The aforementioned smile was evoked by the fact that just three weeks ago, I had taken the weed-trimmer to the plants.  They had gotten so straggly that the bed looked terrible.  While trimming the edges of the lawn, I turned the weed-eater and cut the flower gardens down to about six inches tall. The Four-O'clocks, Zinnias, Marigolds and Purple Basil all were zipped down and left for goners.  All of the plants decided that they were not giving up so easily!  Once again, the gardens are overflowing and the blooms are spectacular!  In the late evening the Four-O'clock blooms send out their sweet aromas to attract pollinating moths.  Those moths might fully enjoy the blossoms but probably not as much as Mr. PJ and I did this evening.  What a pleasant walk we had!