My Mother

My mother is my taproot. She keeps me grounded. She has always been the epitome of a Southern Lady and I have always been proud to call her my Mother. At 95 years of age she's quite amazing. Yes, she has dementia [short-term memory loss] and yes, she is getting a little frail. But her eyes still sparkle and her wit is sharp and her love is ever encompassing. I treasure each day I have with her and strive to be just a bit like her but feel I have failed miserably. However, I will keep trying!

Giddy-up

This is the only horse I know how to ride. Sad but true. My daddy loved horses and we had several. They were beautiful but Mother was always a little wary of them and I inherited that! Before Mother and Daddy married he actually delivered mail on a little black horse named Dolly that he loved. Mother thought him quite dashing. But a saddled-up tree is more my speed and it's about time for a new saddle!

My white Red bud tree

Yes, that really is a white red bud. I ordered it from a catalog several years ago and it was tiny. It has the same heart shaped leaves as the red bud and blooms up and down the branches the same also. It's so fresh and clean, I just love it. It's planted close to the fairy woodland garden.

A Canopy of Pink

The saucer magnolias are in full bloom. A late cold snap gets them about every other year so they are even more treasured when they get to bloom in all their glory. These are in my front yard and the ground will be carpeted with their pink petals as the leaves start emerging. I used to cut the branches from these to decorate the shop--the catkins stay on nicely and the branches are knobby and interesting. I always hear Vivaldi in my head when I see them in bloom. They peak out with the Bradford pears and the forsythia and the jonquils. The promise of Spring.

An Advocate of Wildlife

This little woodland creature is eating black oil birdseed on the ledge built right outside my kitchen window. He often has visitors--chipmunks and a plethora of birds. It's about time for the goldfinches to arrive, the cardinals have been prevalent all winter and of course wrens, sparrows, and snowbirds. I see many other varieties from this window however all do not sit on the shelf. The bluebirds don't nor the cedar waxwings. Some are just not as social as others! I, myself, am a wildlife advocate. Don't speak to me of hunting, don't brag to me, don't ask me to hunt on this property. You get your trophy, I get mine. Your "you knows" will be hanging over my door. I am closed minded about it and want to have no part of it. I will keep this property a sanctuary for doves, squirrels, and deer. I won't even keep a cat for fear of it getting my birds and chipmunks. I will find them a home but they can't live here, I can't deal with their predatory ways. It's just the way I am. At this point in life I don't see me changing! I even had speed bumps put on my road so my chipmunks wouldn't get hit! You may think me silly but you know what? I don't care. My mother always said that I marched to the beat of a different drummer like Thoreau and he was and is one of my favorite writers.

Birds Eye View

This birdhouse is on a very tall post and overlooks the back lily garden. A mockingbird uses it for his podium and serenades me while I work or just sit. Wrens usually build inside. This area used to be the vegetable garden but too much shade limited production of edibles. I stuck a few lilies and peonies in amongst the greenery of the tomatos [great greenery, few tomatoes!] for color and the lilies and peonies thrived. Hence it is now filled with pinks, yellows, reds, purples, a varitable rainbow of color and quite lovely if I do say so myself! This is where my obsession of daylilies begun. The obsession continues.

A New Nesting Place

We're going to have a wedding! My niece, Megan, has always told me that she wanted to get married here and now it's going to happen! I love my family. We are so on the same page. My other niece, Sarah, married wonderful Dustin and they built their nest on the lake property. We love them being there--that property needed to be loved and tended and now it is. Megan may not nest here but the celebration will be and we are all so excited. We have three months to plan and plant and do so it will be a busy time! The decor will be natural, a touch vintage, a touch Shabby Chic, and clever. [I hope!!] Megan will have her sister as her attendant and Forrest, her brother, will give her away. Is that not the sweetest? I would like to tell you some of the decorations and plans but I really want it to be a surprise and there will be Lots of pictures later! So for now our minds are churning with ideas and Patti and I are in preliminary frenzy mode. {I always work better under pressure!} I am hoping that the day lilies will be at their peak and that the weather will cooperate. However, no matter what it will be a celebration of the heart!