Because...during that canoe (mis)adventure a few weeks ago, my camera was even less pleased than I was to be momentarily resting on the bottom of the river. And as much as I like my phone, for phone things, I prefer my camera for mornings like this one: here's what I saw the first morning my camera and I were back in partnership:
Why do you talk about your porch so much?
Because I would live there if I could.
Because in this quiet space I meet God.
Because I love my front row seat with a view into another world and culture.
Because from here I see many things that make me smile:
Do you only raise herbs and flowers in your garden?
Someone asked me this recently, and I sensed the rest of the unspoken query-"Don't you raise anything really useful/edible in that garden?" Vegetables abound in my garden - all the usual "useful" stuff like beans and tomatoes and cucumbers and potatoes and lettuce and onions. (And zucchini, see below.) But for me, the herbs and flowers are just as useful - for adding beauty to the world and for nurturing my own soul. And some of my flowers serve double duty! Like these tasty nasturiums, putting on a fine display in their orange amazingness:
Why should people start locking their cars if they park within a half day's driving radius of Hickory Lane?
Just kidding...but, about the useful vegetables...ummm, zucchini. Lots of zucchini. And yellow summer squash. And spaghetti squash. (And don't forget the butternut squash a few months from now...)
Why do you wear gloves to garden?
Because...spiders. Big furry looking spiders. Also, potentially other critters. You never know. Yesterday I discovered this little fellow while picking beans. He's a Gray Treefrog, and I think he's giving me the Stink Eye because I disturbed his lunch foraging. (See, he's ready to snatch that bright yellow bean beetle larvae!) And I gave him the Stink Eye because he just looks so...reptilian. I like having this visitor in my garden, but gloves enable me appreciate him even more. So, gloves. They help me.
Wait, aren't those weeds?? Why do you let milkweed grow in the middle of the dill?
That question is easy to answer in one word (okay, two.) Monarch butterflies. (It's all their larvae eat, and this is where the butterflies must lay their eggs.)
Were you really in your garden pulling out dead larkspurs at nine o'clock last night?
Okay, it was definitely time to call it quits. My back was a little sore and I smelled bad and the black seeds of larkspurs were clinging to my skin like a horde of ticks. I wasn't enjoying "being where my feet were" any more and I was so sick of those larkspurs. (I thought, I'll just finish this one little section...I wonder how many stems I'll pull out here...I stopped counting at fifty.) And then, this happened:
What are you always talking about "little things?"
Once a wise woman reminded me to "look for the little things because sometimes that's all there is." She started me on a quest, and I'll always be grateful for her help. Watching for those little things has changed my life. Because I'm discovering there are never just the little things.
you might be surprised at the big things you discover along the way!