I have loved hanging out in the garden ever since I can remember.  My grandmother grew everything from flowers to vegetables and fruits.  We lent farmland to farmers to grow Jasmine rice, so I had the chance to play in a rice field… and mud.  During the rainy season I could hardly wait to run out after the rain to pick wild mushrooms.  Nothing is like the simple pleasure that nature provides.  Nature shows a life cycle being born, growing old and dying within a short period of time.  It became an attachment that I don’t seem to be able to detach from even after many years of living in the city.  Now, I have  a garden again, actually I should say “we”, Bill and I, and it is a challenge.  Not just what new additions to add, but to keep it organic as well as attractive to new winged friends.  We counted over 30 types of birds in our yard last year.  Frogs, toads, bees, butterflies, spiders and the ‘spooky’ (I grew up where snakes are poisonous) Garter snakes have been hanging out in our garden as well.

Spring makes me anxious, my fingers itch to get in the dirt.  I couldn’t sleep and as soon as it is light enough outside I will be up and out the door with a mug of coffee in my hand.  The morning orchestra is always superb plus the rays of light playing across and through the dew at the edge of each leaf.  Anyone else coming up… any new kids on the block?  Each spring is like a race to please long awaited friends, pruning, training and feeding within a time frame, to make sure that your friends are satisfied.  If you are up to par with your friends, the outcome is always spectacular.  I pull every trick I have learned since I was a child, with help from Bill in any way he can, to make sure that they are happy.  What have our friends with little petals and wings been giving us in return?  Simple happiness.  We don’t want to leave the house in the morning.