Queen of the Small Gardens

  I have crowned myself as "Queen of the Small Gardens" being as that is the entirety of my realm for the next week or so.  No hikes.  No pier.  No heavy work.  Boring.  While some would be happy campers with this new arrangement, I am not.  It is not my nature to sit on my duff.  I need to be doing...doing anything...just doing.   This newfound laziness is rubbing me against the grain and, though I am the queen of this realm, I wish to escape.  That, my friends, is in the plans!  Escape!  Oh, the things I could do!

  Actually, I cannot complain about being confined to the small garden spaces as this is one of my favorite places.  I am adjusting to the change and am finding that I have overlooked so many things here.  My appreciation for even the tiniest changes is overwhelming.  To think that just a week ago, I had free run of the Bayou and all of its wonders and, now, I am discovering new wonders that are practically underfoot. Perhaps a wakeup call is needed to literally show us how to appreciate what we are given.  All is good.

  This morning, I found that the phlox were blooming and the althea bush was rewarding my "devining" efforts with an explosion of flowers.  To be honest, the phlox plant is one that my sweet granddaughter bought for her uncle.  Son has no idea of planting nor caring for flowers so the plant was placed in my care.  He was, however, elated to see the blooms and we had a long chat about Sweet Mary Ruth and her choice of gifts.  Both of us decided that they were the best gifts one could receive.  The althea bush was from a cutting from my grandparents' home so it holds memories as well. These two discoveries were the highlight of my morning.  Yeah, not much in comparison to some folks' day but highly exciting for the Queen of the Small Gardens.  I can be satisfied with what I find and elated just to be seeing a new day.  Life is good.  

"It will all come out in the wash"

  Just when things seem to be at their roughest point, along comes a little happy surprise that often makes things all better.  With the old dog having major problems, I have sort of neglected myself.  A few days ago, he collapsed and I made a mad dash to catch him.  His legs buckled in the most painful position and I knew that I needed to lift him so he could "unfold" a bit.  Dropping down to one knee, I propped my other leg up under the nigh on 70 lb dog to support him.  Well, it worked well for him but did me no favors.  The knee that has given me problems in the past is now very painful.  Now, there are two of us limping, moaning and groaning.   (At least, I am not yelping!)  This being hurt is not helping me with anything so it just needs to go away...and fast.  At least with the old dog feeling his age, our walks are slow so my knee is not being jarred more than need be.  

  On one of these snail-paced walks, I was pondering all of the things that needed doing.  A lot of chores have been put on hold lately and I need to get it in gear.  With the Clue Hunt on the Bayou just a matter of weeks away, things are piling up.  The house is a mess with the interior redo, the yard is a mess since I cannot push a lawnmower and nary a prop has been made for the hunt.  My brain was reeling with dismal thoughts.  As I limped along the side path, things suddenly got a lot brighter.  It seems as if Pop was sending me a message that things would work out ok.  His famous saying was "Oh, don't worry, it will all come out in the wash."  Somehow things always did.  But that message or sign, if you would rather, came in the form of a small cluster of flowers.  

  Pop always had the most beautiful yard.  His flower gardens were impeccably clean and there were year-round blooms.  One of his pride and joy plants was the purple phlox that grew shoulder high and had clusters of blooms a good 15 inches in diameter.  These were the "talk of the town" with folks often stopping in just to see them.  Well, fast forward to today.  A few blooms were found in a neglected area of the garden.   Pop had given me a start years ago and they grew despite all odds.  Neglect, rabbits and even hurricanes did not destroy the plants.  While one may think it should be expected that I found the few blooms, it should not have happened.  Just last month, I dug up the entire clump and gave them to Darling Daughter for her gardens.  Now, just when I needed a "pick me up", I stumbled (literally) upon the blooms.  Granted, they are not the huge things that Pop grew but they had a huge impact on me.  It will all come out in the wash.

  So....now I have no whiny excuse.  Hurt leg or not, I will listen to Pop and get myself motivated.  Things will be accomplished but only one step at a time.  I will prioritize things and make a difference each day.  Like those tiny blooms that refuse to give up, I will not let setbacks get me down.  It WILL all come out in the wash!  Thanks, Pop!  I really needed that!

Black Cats and Purple Phlox

We had a terrible storm sweep over the Bayou this afternoon.  It was one of those types that makes you thankful for your snug little house!   The skies darkened so much that it appeared to be nighttime and then the wind, thunder and lightning put on a remarkable show.  This was the culmination of a day filled with drizzly rain and grey skies.  I was certainly glad that I had taken my walk earlier in the day before even the light showers began.

While out, I noticed that my Purple Phlox were blooming.  These have struggled for the past years.  My sister, Susan, shared the plants with me after Hurricane Katrina took my plants.  These were some that Pop had in his yard and were a favorite of his.  Of course, when Pop grew them, they grew to be huge plants with massive flower heads.  Mine...struggle.  This morning, I promised myself that I would take better care of the Phlox and see if they might do well enough to remotely resemble the ones back on the Farm.  My sister inherited Pop's "Green Thumb".  Everything she touches does well!  Mine..sometimes struggle!

This morning, once again, Ms. Ez stayed inside.  She was not wanting to get out of her bed so the cat, Ms. Put, joined me on my hike.  Since the cat walks so quietly, she is a great one to take hiking when you want to photograph critters.  (Except when she decides to eat what you are photographing..something that does happen occasionally!)  On our walk, she checked out everything before I was allowed to take a step.  She would anticipate my path and stay a few steps ahead of me.  Unlike the dog, I have yet to train the cat how to "heel"!  She goes where she wants..when she wants.  When she came to the Phlox, she was highly interested in a young rabbit that was about twenty feet away.  She stared at the rabbit until it felt intimidated enough to hop under my old truck.  Once she cleared the path of the dreaded rabbit, she turned back toward me as if to say "Its ok..you can come this way now!"  I obliged and we continued.

It is great to have a huge dog along on the hikes in case of some "Bayou Monster" attack but then, again, I have no doubt that this little six pound cat would do well in protecting me!  She rules the Bayou and I always feel quite safe from any marauding rabbits!