The good part of a pokey baby (going into day 13 overdue...but who is counting?!) and needing to rest is we've had a trifecta of Frances Hodgson Burnett reading this month.
We've finished Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Secret Garden and we'll finish A Little Princess tomorrow. While the kids loved all three, the Secret Garden is definitely their favorite. In fact, Adrian said that on his scale of favorites that it comes right after "Where the Red Fern Grows" (which is his ultimate favorite).
I also love the Secret Garden...especially given that we've been blessed with our own Secret Gardens here on this 1880s Maine farm. It's such a dream come true! When I saw a bucket and a granite bench through this dense and thick brush, I (and I alone) removed 7 truckloads of brush to find many perennials and the outskirts of an old goldfish pond. I have scars on my arms, but have located and brought back to life some concord grapes that are decades upon decades old. Plus there's another area the goats have helped pull back the nasty brush to see more things planted. Plus another that has so many irises and phlox interspersed with thick wild raspberries. It's truly a treasure having our own secret gardens here, although to bring all these gardens back, it will take a lifetime. We've only been here 4 years so far, all of those years with little ones (when we first bought, two kids under the age of two)...and I'm the lone gardener...but progress has been made.
I am eager to get out there, but I know this year will not be the year for big changes. Lots of our 'work' still looks like a work in progress out there. But, through the brush and brambles, I do find enough flowers to keep our table topped with beautiful homegrown flowers from April until October.
What an amazing homestead. Surely the former owners are gazing down upon you with smiles on their faces, knowing that their home is well-tended.
ReplyDeleteC'mon, Earth Day baby! Momma wants to see you!