Early Morning Happiness

   Our spring-like weather has put all of the plants and critters in a tizzy.  It is wonderful!  The gardens are a happy place once again.  This morning as I ambled back up from the pier, the scent of roses welcomed me to the Small Gardens.  Ahh, the Cherokee Rose had to be in bloom!  This wild rose blooms far earlier than any of the others.  After entering the garden from the south, the arbor was in full view.  Yep, the white roses were covering the entire top!  Happy!!! 

  This particular rose was one that Son had literally pulled from the ground years ago.  He and I had wandered far back into the woods in search of the rose when I spied the canes sprawling along an old fence. Weeks before, I had made the comment that I wish some would grow closer to the house.  Never "wish" anything around Son because, if at all possible, he will make it happen.  Thus, we went on a hike and a wild rose came home with us.  

  That was some twelve years ago and I am happy to say the rose is still doing well!  It has outlasted several arbors and is currently on the newest of these.  Son had to rebuild the arbor this past year.  Termites had eaten the previous one and the one before was damaged by a hurricane.  The rose, however, withstood it all!  This morning...I smiled.  The rose brings happy thoughts of a son's love and of endurance.  It doesn't get much better...does it?

The Forgotten Day

   Once again, Son came through for me.  With the scourge (of termites) that has taken over the entire Gulf Coast, wooden things do not stand a chance...even "treated" wooden things.  My rose arbors fell to the mighty bugs.  I, along with the rose bushes, was devastated!  My beautiful rose garden had fallen to shambles.  Then one thing or another got in the way of repairs.  You know...things like hurricanes, health and life in general.  Each time I walked through that section of the Small Gardens, I was saddened.  I tried to support the rose canes with hogwire cages but it was not the same as the beautiful arbors.

  Early in March, my birthday came and went. Other than my sister, my brother and his girlfriend and one cousin, nary a birthday wish came my way.  Most everyone simply forgot or simply do not care.  Most everyone except my daughter and son-in-law who thought to get flowers...not the florist type that die quickly but geranium plants.  I am elated! They know I love my gardens.  I am excited to have a new challenge as I have never grown rose geraniums before. Then, Son, too, did a gardening thing.  He built a new arbor!  He asked what type I would like and I told him that I would leave the design up to him.  I am now a happy camper with my new arbor for the rose bushes and some rose geraniums for the herb shelf.  

  With kiddos like this, I have no reason to be sad about growing older.  They do indeed try to keep things cheerful and I so appreciate them.  I can reclaim my title of Queen of the Small Gardens and amble through the Rose Garden and Herb Garden with pure glee.  Now, you will have to pardon me while I go train the roses to cover the arbor and tend to my geraniums.  

Happy Little Song To Brighten The Day

  For years now, there has been a mockingbird that follows me around the yard as I work.  The bird may or may not be the same one but it always makes me think of two little ones that I raised so long ago.   I am thinking those two, Knox and Shelby, probably have left this world as they came to the Bayou as abandoned tykes some eight years ago.  Not many wild mockingbirds live past that age.  Perhaps the one that follows me is a relative of one of those two.  It is always a lone bird that seems to have no fear of me and thinks that it is grand fun to shadow my every move.  It is most likely looking for a handout in much the same way that the herons do.

  This morning as I worked the gardens, I noticed that my little friend was flitting between the arbor and the fence.  If I moved to a new area, the bird would follow.  Much of the time, it sat singing its beautiful little song for me.  Of the two birds I raised, Knox was the singer which led me to believe that it was male.  It seems that the male mockingbirds sing far more than the females.   The one, today, was a singer!  Occasionally, the bird would stop its singing, look at me, let out a single chirp then swoop to the ground where I was digging.  There it would busy itself in search of an elusive bug or worm.  Then back to the arbor, it would fly.

  This afternoon as I took the old dog out for his last walk, the bird followed until it came upon the rose arbor.  There, it perched on the top and soaked up a good bit of the warm sunshine.  It will need that warmth tonight as the temperatures are going to dip to the low 40s.  Both Knox and Shelby would have been clinging to the screen door begging to come inside.  They knew where the bird cage was and would immediately fly to it when the door was opened.  This bird, was on its own.  There would be no warm, comfy cage for it to retreat to for the night.  It is funny how memories of events like raising two orphaned birds can bring a smile after so many years.  It is funny how a single mockingbird's song can make the heart happy.  It is funny how birds, sunshine and memories all mingle together at times.

Just Amblin'

  Yesterday, Mr. PJ (the old dog) and I meandered in the azaleas.  He loved nosing around in a "new" territory.  He is not often allowed to wander down the lane as I do not wish to have him near the main road.  His instincts and reaction times would not serve him well in the path of an oncoming automobile.  So we normally stay far from the lane.  However, I figured that as long as I was with him (which, lately, is always), it would not hurt to give him a new place to explore.  He and I, both, loved being in our little hidden world.  For a while we were completely surrounded by the ten foot tall azaleas.  I think the escapade did him good as he slept soundly during the night following our short, amble.

  This afternoon, the wind was blowing something fierce.  Mr. PJ decided that he wished to stay on the southeast side of the house since it is obvious that he loves wind.  Our walk (which is no longer a vigorous hike due to his health) took us through the east arbor which has a rambling Cherokee Rose sprawling across the top.  This rose was planted here by Son a few years back and I love the thing.  He and I were on a hike far back in the creek bed when I spied a few of the rose vines.  I made mention that I had always wanted one for the yard even though they are considered to be an invasive species.  (Perhaps this is true as the woods are filled with the rambling roses.)   It was only a few hours later that Son called me out to see my new rose!  I am still thrilled with this beauty and, today, it proved to be a bright spot in the midst of a storm.  The top of the arbor is filled with the heavily scented white blooms.  

  The Cherokee Rose is one of the first roses to bloom in the rose garden each spring, although its history is a bit sketchy.  It was brought to the United States in 1780 and soon became naturalized.  It acclimated to the Deep South so well that it soon became invasive and now fills the wooded areas with its brambles.  Early spring, however, those thorny brambles put for a glorious show of white blooms.  From a distance, a lot of folks tend to believe that these roses are dogwood blooms but they are far from the same.  The dogwood is actually on a decline on the Coast and in recent years, there are few to be found.  Not so with the Cherokee Rose.  It is everywhere...and it is also in my yard!  I love it!

  While Mr. PJ sat with his nose to the wind, I pushed my nose in the center of several of the roses!  Our short walks are beginning to be a tad more interesting than those during the gray days of winter.  There is a lot more to see now and the old dog does not have to amble far for me to find something mesmerizing.  There is a lot of magic on this old Bayou of mine!  Hopefully, this wind will not tear up all of the azalea and rose blooms and there were still be plenty to enjoy for a few days.

The Timeshare

  A Timeshare is a housing unit that is shared by tenants equally during the year.  Most of the time it is a vacation home that is "owned" by many tenants that are each allotted a certain couple of weeks per year to use the home.  During the rest of the year, the home (condo, apartment, whatever) is occupied by the different tenants.  This works well for folks who vacation occasionally and like to have their "own" place to go instead of the hassle of hotel rooms.  The concept it is a brilliant idea!

  I am thinking that the birds on the Bayou have come up with a similar plan.  The rose arbor has become a "housing project" for birds.  First, doves made a nest and were getting quite comfy when a pair of mockingbirds confiscated the nest and added onto it.  This did indeed improve the place and made for a much sturdier nest.  The mockingbirds raised their brood of four hatchlings despite the few harrowing incidents of storms, snakes and marauding hawks or crows. The little ones have been out on their own now for a good three weeks.  

  I was out plucking worms from the tomato plants when I heard a familiar call.  A mourning dove was just above my head on the arbor. After we said our "hellos" and exchanged niceties, he flew to the fig tree.  I thought this was rather suspicious so I checked the arbor.  Sure enough, in the same nest that the doves before had built and the mockingbirds improved, Mama Dove was setting on her eggs.  Ahhh, a new family of little ones would soon be hatched.  

  While I was standing there admiring the sweet face of Mama Dove, a chickadee started fussing at me.  That one was checking the little yellow birdhouse just inches from the dove abode.  It does appear that the arbor with its protective rose thorns is the condo of choice for the nesting birds. Wise choice as I am in the garden most of the day and will shoo any predators away from the nests.  I guess this Timeshare has a great security system as well as convenience.