Plants Have A Lot To Say

   Currently, the Small Gardens are overgrown, weedy and seemingly happy.  Each morning brings a new surprise in the way of blooms, fruit or vegetables.  It just goes to show that once we stop dumping chemicals, do not overcut and simply let plants do their own thing, they provide.  Plants are resilient...too bad we are not the same.  

  This morning found some lovely phlox in bloom.  These plants came from two different people.  Pop gave me the first start and I have managed to keep them at least surviving for some 35 years.  Yep, the plants keep coming back year after year from the rootstock.  The newer phlox came from my sweet Grand Princess, Mary Ruth when she was just a tot.  Actually, she brought them to "Uncle Michael" (also known as Son on the blog).  She just "had" to bring him some purple flowers!  He loves them merely for that fact. 

  In a way, the phlox are the perfect gift.  Phlox are said to represent "united hearts and souls".  I was very close to Pop and miss him terribly.  He was the one who taught me the love of gardening and plants, in general.  I am also quite certain Son and Mary Ruth will always maintain a special relationship even though they are so very far apart.  The phlox are fitting and so lovely to find as one wanders through the yard.  That is part of the Magic of the Small Gardens!

Getting Dirty!

  While most women want jewelry, a new car or clothes as gifts, I am a bit different.  As one of my friends commented, "You can tell a country girl by the gifts she likes to receive."  She was excited over a dump truck load of topsoil that had been delivered for her garden.  It was beautiful, rich, black dirt and made me wish for a load.  Living on a steep hill is rough on gardening.  Let a torrential rainstorm hit and all of my tilled garden dirt (along with every seed) soon washes into the Bayou.  For several years, I attempted to use raised garden boxes but, like every other wooden item in the area, termites soon ate my boxes.  I was back to ground planting and hoping for the best.

  When I mentioned to Mark that my friend had gotten the most beautiful dirt, he laughed, picked up his phone and ordered me a load.  "I guess this will be what I get you as a Mother's Day gift.  You are not going to be happy with anything else, are you?"  Nope!  I want dirt!  I want to plant!  I want my garden back!  So..I got dirt!

  Now I am as happy as a kid making mud pies!  Already, fig trees and avocado trees have found new homes in the rich soil.  The trees seem to be enjoying the new life.  Next, tomatoes, bell peppers, squash, okra and green beans will be wallowing in the "good dirt".  Life will be good for them and hopefully, they will repay me with lots of produce!  

  So, thanks Mark!  This is the perfect gift for this old, country girl!  Give me a load of dirt, a shovel and a bunch of seeds and I will be as happy as a lark!  

Gifts From Nature

  Pop always used to tell us that we needed to make sure that we could find sustenance in nature.  To him, it was highly important that his kids could find food in some place other than a grocery store.  "Grow it, catch it or hunt it." was something that I remember him drilling into my head at an early age.  One of my earliest memories was going hunting with him.   Afraid that I might dally along the path, he used to tell me to hang onto his belt loop.  It was a far reach for a toddler to reach waist-high on a man that was well over six feet tall but I knew that I had better do as I was told for fear of being lost in the woods.  He showed me how to spot trails on the ground, markings on and under trees and to listen...always listen.  Then, later, I was allowed to hunt on my own and felt comfortable doing so.  I had learned from the best.  Fishing was much the same.  I was allowed to go to my grandparents' pier before I was even school.  With a canepole and can of worms in hand, I fished for whatever bit.  Once a catfish was hauled onto the pier, it became crab bait.  A piece of string and a fishhead could lure more crabs to bite than any other bait or trap!  Nary a thought was given that I might hurt myself or that an accident could happen.  If I had learned my lessons well, there was no need for fretting.  

  For the past week, I have become more aware than ever before that food is there for the taking.  There is really no reason for hunger if you only use your head.  As I wander about the Bayou and surrounding hillside, it astounds at the bounty given to us.  Just this week alone, the empty crab pots provided meals.  Three mullet, a trout, a croaker, a sheepshead and a shellcracker were all pulled from the empty (non baited) traps.  Had I thrown the fishheads back into those pots, plenty of other fish and crabs would have ventured inside to dine.  Actually, I had no intentions of using the traps to catch fish but the water provided.  Not only did the crab pots provide fish, a baited line and five minutes of time found me catching a nice sized trout!  Many more could have been taken but the one was plenty as a meal.  The point is...fish are there for the taking.

  Besides the fish, food also was obtained from the waning garden.  The last remnants of the summer/fall garden rendered enough vegetables to round out meals. (The winter garden is now in the process of being planted.)  Then, there are the wild plants that can be added to the plate.  With just a proper identification, many of what are never considered are plants that can be eaten.  It is not uncommon for me to gather wild plants to add to our meals. There is really no reason for hunger.  Grow it, catch it or hunt it.  Too many folks have never learned any basics whatsoever. Yep, we are blessed with more than we can imagine if we would only use what is given.  The gifts are there...sometimes we are just too blind to see them.

Good Health and Long Life

  Darling Daughter and her hubby just got back from a dream vacation. Ten days in Greece seemed to agree with the two of them as they both looked happy and hale.  Their visit to the Little Bayou House made me happy as well.  I was eager to hear all about their trip and to see pictures and souvenirs that they had brought back with them.  I was truly fascinated as I never travel much.  As they chattered about the different places they went and the different sights they saw, I flipped through several picture books of the area.  Wow!  Greece must be a remarkably beautiful place!  With each photograph, I received their own experiences about being there. It was amazing that I could travel through their words. 

  While in Greece, they purchased two items that were for me.  One is a perfectly lovely little vase that was handmade at one of their stops. Elizabeth explained to me how the vase was made, fired and then decorated with different colored clay and fired again.  There were no glazes applied to this piece.  All of the decorations were done with clay. The other piece is a small bowl which came from another stop on their journey.  This, too, was handmade but with a different technique.  It is highly glazed and very detailed.  One thing that the two pieces have in common is the decorative scroll border.  While they are a bit different in style they both have a similar meaning.  When the borders are seen on a piece, it means "Good health and long life".  Elizabeth told me that was the reason she bought these for me.  Aww, sweet!  

   The "good health and long life" symbol is a beautiful thought. Occasionally, I have used this same  border on ceramic or gourd pieces that I created.  At the time, I did not know the symbolic meaning behind the border but it is almost as if I was unknowingly bestowing a blessing upon those receiving the art pieces.  I do believe I will now include the tiny border somewhere on each future piece I create.  

  The idea behind the small design is intriguing and I did notice that I felt much better today than I have in a long time.  To my way of thinking, that had nothing to do with the scrollwork but everything to do with Elizabeth and Robbie coming to visit.  There is nothing like family being around to make everything right.  So, Good health and long life to all!

So it begins!

  With a successful Third Annual Clue Hunt on the Bayou behind us now, my thoughts have turned to a different project.  Gourds!  Each year, several kind folks order hand-painted or jewel inlaid gourds as gifts for those on their Christmas gift lists.  It is perhaps the highest compliment that can be given to an aspiring artisan to have repeat clients.  Some of mine have been returning for over ten years and it never ceases to thrill me.  I recall the first "order" that I ever received and the feeling was a mixture of gratitude and success.  I had sold an art piece!  Today's order thrills me just as much and I am still just as grateful as I was with that first sale.  

  With that in mind, I lugged out the huge basket of paints, the box of brushes and the sack of cleaned gourds.  These would soon become art pieces that will be put before the prospective clients for their final approval.  First, however, I had to become inspired.  I had to wrap my brain around painting happy little flowers and birds rather than creating clue hunt props.  There is a massive difference in the two and switching from one to the other involves me shifting gears, so to speak.  To find my "happy" creativity, I delved into my stash of photographs from the Bayou and gardens.  Something there always does the trick.  A photograph of my sister-in-law's clematis plant seemed to grab my attention so I had a beginning!  Clematis blooms would adorn the first gourd.  (This worked well as one lady had specified that she "loves purple flowers"!  Hopefully, she will love my purple flowers.)

  For the next few weeks, the living room will become an artist's studio. Things will be scattered about hither and yon.  My room will be in a disarray but the production of gifts will be in full swing. What fun I have!