Dear Reader:

The best lesson that I have learned from my garden…is patience. Life never gives up…and neither should we.

Those first couple of garden seasons when so many wonderful friends and family members were giving me seeds, plants, bushes, and even trees to plant…I was beside myself with joy!

But then just as soon as anything looked too droopy, too weary, or brownish or just pitifully gangly I was ready to toss it…and actually did. (Much to my later dismay as a more experienced gardener.)

Both friends and mentors… Doodle and Anne… repeatedly reassured me that “whatever foliage I thought had to go…probably didn’t. Just be patient…give it some time…even some more seasons…sometimes beauty takes longer than we plan.”  But it is always worth the wait.

So  true!

Cast-in-point:

A couple of weeks ago…I was adding more soil to my rectangular planter filled with portulaca…the plant that actually loves sun, humidity, and heat. (Not easy to come by in the low country)

Without realizing it I must have pulled one stem out with the portulaca flowers clinging…while tidying up and taking the bag of potted soil back to the garage. The stem fell on the other side of the deck table and for days when unnoticed.

During that time it rained one night and we had cooler temperatures than usual ...Then two days ago I was sweeping the deck and noticed it. I was surprised to see two blooms still on it. When I went to pick it up…to toss it over the balcony from old habits…it was wedged tightly between the deck planks…yet somehow still surviving on its own. 

I gently pried it loose and replanted it back in the planter with the rest of its “family.” I am happy to say it has “settled back in” and is doing well. Another lesson learned. Life is not a giver-upper…not by a long shot…nor should we be.

Anne receives notable author Louise Penny’s newsletters and she sent me a copy of the May Newsletter. There isn’t room to copy it all…though every word is wonderful…like her writing…but here is an excerpt that I think we can all relate to…as we continue to find our footing during this extraneous time.

MAY NEWSLETTER

Dear Anne:

Am really hoping this finds you safe and healthy.  I am both, and relatively sane.  Have decided I am not actually stuck at home – I am now a “writer in residence”.  And this quarantine is beginning to feel normal.

How comforting, how disconcerting is that?  Comforting that we can indeed adapt, and quickly, to this radical new reality.  But disconcerting that it can feel anywhere close to normal.

I find I am both more relaxed and more anxious.  The rapid, scary, dismantling of all that we’d known and taken for granted, has slowed.  The restrictions on our freedom are now in place.  So there is less shock.  The ground beneath our feet has stopped shifting.  And so have we.

I find I am now less frightened.  But more worried.  About what the world, our lives, will look like when this is over.  About what ‘over’ even means.

But then, I eat another chocolate bar, go for a walk, phone a friend, and feel better.

***Can we uninstall 2020 and reinstall it again?… I think it has a virus …

***After years of wanting to thoroughly clean my house but lacking the time, this week I discovered that wasn’t the reason.

***Homeschooling Day #12: they all graduated. #Done.

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Yesterday I didn’t get a chocolate bar like Penny but I tied on my mask…and went curbside to Tastee-Freeze and ordered several sundaes! After all, I figured it was Sunday…actually a pretty hot Sunday…near 90…so the thought of ice cream intensified with the escalating heat.

I bought a sundae for every neighbor who lived alone…it was much appreciated and we all had fun laughing and remembering sundaes from our past as I dropped each off.

So until tomorrow…life is always worth fighting for…even if it is just to have a little more time to share a sundae with a neighbor. 🙂

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

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When Tommy and Kaitlyn were dating and later married…Rudy was their only dog. (He was Kaitlyn’s dog from home and a witness to their romance and subsequent marriage.)

When Rudy died from cancer…they began adopting senior dogs that no else wanted or ones who had come from puppy mills and lead terrible lives.

Soon there were four little dogs…with Schatzi and Khaleesi being the last. We forget that this pandemic, by affecting small businesses… affects animals too. Many small businesses are  involved in dog adoption  and rescue centers. Many of which are in dire straits now.

Please read the information below my daughter-in-law Kaitlyn texted me Saturday night.

*Thank you ahead of time for anything you can do to help.

Valiant the Rescue where Khaleesi and Schatzi came from is in dire straights. They need help.

*****WAYS TO HELP*****

**Donate Much Needed Funds**

Venmo Account @Valiantanimalrescue

PayPal Account PayPal.me/valiantrescue

ValiantAnimalRescue.Org

Mailing address:
Valiant Animal Rescue
PO Box 13477
Charleston SC 29422

**Donate Much Needed Supplies**

ChickSaddlery Valiant Wishlist
https://www.chicksaddlery.com/wish-list?WishList_ID=21218

Valiant Amazon Wishlist
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3NKI3U5P7EC9R?ref_=wl_share

Tractor Supply
•Rubber Stall Mats for kennels
•Mini Horse Feed
•SandClear

Feed Stores
•Coastal Hay (Horse quality, stored out of weather)
•Alfalfa pellets
•Salt and Mineral Blocks

If anyone missed the previous post regarding our account being closed by Wells Fargo without any prior notice or authorization by Valiant, please follow this link https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157206375197358&id=142379622357

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Garden Lovelies…Zinnias!

Surprise:

Mike Burrell stopped by yesterday and dropped off “surcies” from Honey. Here are the flowers she is now making…they look like they were always supposed to be part of the hanging flower vase she molded by hand and gave me years ago.

And look at the little adorably cute “Go with the Flow” flower vase…I filled it with mini-zinnias. During the day I put it on a side window table and last night moved it to the bed table.

Wouldn’t this make a wonderful memento to family and friends remembering the good parts and good people during our ‘stay-at-home’ transitional period? 🙂 Best Advice: “Go with the flow”! We can get through this together!

These are two of Louise Penny’s cartoons she had in her newsletter…love them!