If one wanders about the garden at night, he/she might just be treated to a sweet aroma. The flowery scent wafts about on the gentle breezes that come off the Bay. It is strengthened by the heavy dew that, here lately, settles in just after the sun sets. This aroma is not noticeable unless one walks through the rose arbor and on towards the greenhouse in the back.
I first noticed the sweet scent the other evening as I took Ms. Ez out for a late walk. She has not been feeling to pert during the heat of the day so a leisurely stroll through the garden seemed to settle her a bit. Once we eased through the arbor and made our way near the fig trees, the scent suddenly was present. Hmmm, this was nice but I felt the urge to discover just what was the source. I did not think any plants were blooming.
Up in a raised garden box that hangs on the back fence, a few seeds must have been dropped by a bird. In amongst the oregano, lemon balm and sweet basil, a few Four-O'clock seedlings sprouted. It was these young plants with their first blooms that filled the garden with the most delightful scent! Ahh, yes! Four O'clocks are some of my favorites! The old Bayou Dog and I stopped for a few minutes just to enjoy the welcome interruption of our hike. Ms. Ez actually sniffed the air like she was enjoying the flowers as much as I was.
These small plants will make fine tubers which will allow me to transplant them into a more convenient spot than the herb bed. I must remember to collect a few seeds and sow them in amonst the petunias. Then the old dog and I can enjoy many more such delightful walks!
Sometimes darkness can bring fear and trepidation but then sometimes it can disguise a lot of ugliness and pain. The hurt heron is a faithful visitor to the pier each day. I try to catch it plenty to eat since it is nigh on impossible for it to catch fish without being able to wade. The ankle is healing over but will always be painful for the bird. Since the leg bone was not set, the foot will always be lame. The heron undoubtedly will live with horrendous pain for the rest of its life. My goal is to help this bird in any way I can since it was spurned by the wildlife rescue people.
Despite the obvious pain that the bird endures, it always seems to be willing to try. This evening, it came to visit and fill up on fish that Mark and I caught in our nets as we were throwing for shrimp. It would wait patiently until I called it to eat a fish. It never attempted to snatch the shrimp unless I tossed them to it. I kept thinking of what a beautiful bird this was and how it is such a shame that it will always have to endure this hardship.
After getting its belly full, the bird flew up to the top of one of the pier posts to spend the night. If anyone not familiar with the circumstances had seen the bird, they would have never guessed it was hurt. The darkness had blocked out the view of the ugliness. It had masked the pain from everyone but the bird itself. For all others, it was just a lovely silhouette of fine bird. But the bird was well aware of the crippling effect that its injury would have on the entirety of its life. As I photographed the bird, my heart was breaking.
Mark and I decided that we should continue to feed our friend. We are going to freeze packets of fish so we can continue to help the bird come this winter. It will especially need food once the cold weather comes. Hopefully, we can make life a bit easier for our fine, feathered friend.
