Thursday, February 24, 2011

Ready for Spring

A walk around the gardens reveals numerous signs of spring. Crocus are up and blooming. Daffodils are up with their buds at the ready. The hazel nut bushes around the perimeter are blooming. Buds are swelling on countless other shrubs as they count down the days before bursting forth.

I’m planning the gardens for 2011.  Which vegetables will I grow this year? What type of tomatoes, squash, and other vegetables do I want to try? Which flowers will go where in the ever changing tapestry of flower beds and containers? Where will I put the canna bulbs I overwintered in the basement? What unhappy plants will I move to better locations?

Each year the gardens are a canvas blank except for the perennials that create the background. The brush strokes I add change each year. That is the intent: that Shady Hollow is different each year with new discoveries around each corner.

Spring is almost here. I can hardly wait!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Cousin Reunion: Filling in the Gap

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit down face to face and have lunch with my cousin, John.

We had not seen or talked to each other since we were both children. We are  life-times away from being children now.

He was my mother’s favorite nephew. I was her only child. He grieved for his aunt when she died young. I wondered where Mama had gone and why she left me. Its hard to understand death at 3 years old.

In the end I was raised by my paternal grandparents. He lost touch with the family his beloved aunt had married into.

Life went on.

We both have children.  We also have grand and great-grand children. When Mother died, we were children. Now we are elders in our families.

He told me things about my mother I never knew. Good things. For instance:

I learned she was an avid photographer and even had her own darkroom.

I thought about my love of photography and all the cameras I own, from simple to a DSLR. Well, Mother, you managed to pass that passion on to me in 3 short years.

Our lives as cousins was cut short 56 years ago. Yesterday, we started filling in the gaps. Many lunches from now, we may get caught up.

Be blessed.