Garden Thoughts....

We woke up at around 8:00 this morning, and after lying there, just chatting for awhile, we decided to get a pot of coffee going and have our coffee outside in the garden. It is an absolutely gorgeous morning, with the sun shining brightly, and a very light breeze. Its cool, but not uncomfortably so. (We were both in shorts, and I had flip-flops on and wasn't cold at all).

The garden is really waking up, its amazing! There are clumps of daffodils everywhere, anemones are blooming, and there are violets scattered about. The day lillies are about 8 inches tall already, and there are signs of life everywhere!! In our garden, we have lilac, vinca, grandfather's beard, forsythia, spiderwort, evening primrose, lilly of the valley, hostas, astilbe, hyacincth, grape hyacinth, siberian iris, pansies, azalea, butterfly bush, vitex, and much, much more. We have flowering trees; kousa dogwood, indian peach, and others... rhododhendron, rosebushes up the ying-yang... it's unbelievable!!

When we first came here, the place was completely overgrown... it had been neglected and unoccupied for years. A tree had fallen across the property, and had been left for so long that saplings had grown up through it and thatched it down to the ground. Then it had been used as somebodies private landfill. We cleaned it all by hand, and sent five flatbed trucks of crap out of here. We basically dug up the entire yard, three feet deep, and put it all through a hand sifter that I built. All of the work was done by hand, and all of it by Elysia and myself. We worked every single day on it. At the time, neither of us were working; she was on terminal leave from one job, and I was taking some time for myself, as I had just left the police job, and was casting around for direction at the time. We worked from dark till dark, and sweated out there until our hands bled.

Now, its five years later, and the place has really come into its glory. It is our one little piece of the world, and we love it so.

Years ago, two children perished in a fire in our cottage. They are still here with us. We don't see them, but we hear them and feel them. There is a spirit to the place in general, apart from the children who stay in the house. Everybody who visits us can feel it. The ones who are more tuned in recognize it at once. The more straight-laced folks recognize something, but have difficulty giving it a name... regardless, none of them like to leave.

As we sat outside, with the sun on our faces, cool spring breezes stirring our hair (mostly hers, mine is about 1/8" long.. and that's the long part!), and steaming cups of delicious coffee in our hands, the birds sang for us... mourning doves, robins, sparrows, starlings, blue jays, catbirds, mocking birds, cardinals, and blackbirds. From time to time we have hummingbirds, orioles, falcons, ospreys, owls, woodpeckers, nuthatches, bluebirds, and lord knows what else... yellow finches, flickers, red-winged blackbirds, and, of course, seagulls circling overhead. The place just teems with life!! The squirrels were in abundance this morning... they recognize us, and know that we come out to feed them every morning (Elysia has taken charge of that recently, and they know her by sight...), so they all come and hang around and munch their breakfast and play with one another. Jack, the outside cat was in heaven with both mommy and daddy there to give him lots of attention and the TLC that he so loves.

He's getting old, now, Jack. And I sometimes become afraid that he may not be around much longer. Life for an outside kitty is a sight harder than for the inside ones. So I will make a concerted effort to spend as much time with him as I can. He's a loving, gentle, sweet little cat. All he really wants is to be loved.

Jack in the Garden

When we first came here, we never saw him. We heard him as he fled for safety. But never caught sight of him. Little by little, though, we gained his trust, and now when we go outside, he velcros himself to our legs.

In a few weeks, this place will be unbelievable!! Everything will be growing, blossoming, and humming with life.

I love it here. I am so grateful for all the beauty that is around me. Beautiful wife, beautiful home, beautiful world....

I'm a lucky guy....