A Side Thought

There is a big rock in the backyard of my parent's home.  My last summer living there, I went to the local nursery and picked out all the flowers that I thought were beautiful (and that I could afford).  I surrounded the rock with dahlias, lilies, some purple spidery thing, foxgloves and mums.  The outside is lined by yellow and red knockout roses. 

The rock is just in the right place where is it completely covered by sun most of the day except at noon, when it is the hottest.  Sometimes, when I get really down or stressed out, I take myself out of the snow, the busy street, a honking cab, and put myself on that rock.  I don't have any shoes on because you just don't do that in the South.  I stretch my arms and legs as far they'll go, letting the sun warm every piece of me it can get to.  And then I do nothing.  I lay there, and I smile, and I drink in the warmth and the flowers and the stillness of it all.

Bachelor's Buttons

I am blessed to have two siblings, one closer to my age and one much, much younger. Tonight I went with her to the "Spring Fling" at her elementary school (I am visiting for the weekend), and there was more than enough nostalgia to go around.

The sun was setting, and in the south, it is already warm enough to be comfortable in tank tops and shorts until dusk. There was a cool breeze, and a fabulous DJ playing a good enough mix to appease the kids and the adults. Watching the kids run around, listening to the music, watching my parents mingle...it was the perfect setting for flash flood of memories. It made me miss a lot of times, but even more so, the people that are no longer a part of my life. A memory can be a wonderful or a heartbreaking thing.

On a more optimistic note, I found out that I have a real love for gardening today. I've always scoffed at my mother when she asked if I would like to work in the yard with her. Getting dirty in the hot sun...no thanks. Well, for whatever reason, I thought I would like to go with her to Lowes to look at some flowers.

We walked into the greenhouse area, and I was instantly hooked. It's funny how you can go somewhere or do something a million times, and it will mean nothing. But under just the right circumstances, your life can change in a second. I never realized how therapeutic planting could be. I purchased some beautiful white larkspur, knockout roses and a raspberry plant. But my favorite buy of the day had to be my white and amethyst Bachelor's Buttons.

The Bachelor's Button flower is so odd looking; some might even consider it ugly. But there is something so simple and beautiful about this unique flower, I just had to get it. It looks almost like a spider with white spindly legs and a bright purple body. There were so many left at the store, left behind because it didn't fit in with the roses and the peonies. I bought three.