Playing In The Dirt...

Yesterday, Shane and I went in search of the perfect pansy. He has accompanied me in my hunt every year, so I expected the loud groan and "Oh, Mom...." I heard when I announced the time had come.

"Will it take long?", he whined.

"Well, that depends. If we're lucky, they'll have lots of good ones. If not, we'll have to look." My voice was bright in an effort to impart some of the enthusiasm I was feeling, but he didn't seem to get it as he slumped down the hallway in search of his shoes.



As luck would have it, we encountered flats and flats of gorgeous painted faces in every conceivable color. And today, I got to play in the dirt.







My first task was to remove all the summer flowers, still clinging to life in the warm Georgia sun. This is the part I like the least. I always feel a twinge of guilt at ripping a brave survivor out by the roots, so I grit my teeth, clear my mind, and just start pulling.




And now the fun begins. I don't use gloves to do this kind of planting, as I like the feel of dirt on my hands. While shoving them, over and over into the aromatic black dirt, I mentally applauded my decision to cancel my manicure appointment on Friday, and a mischevious smile crossed my face as I imagined the reaction of the beautiful, little sprite who tends my hands if she could have seen the way I was treating her handiwork.







I filled all the containers, using bright yellows, purples, and pinks on the patio...











and old-fashioned ruffled pinks next to the house...




And, as I headed to the back of the yard, towards the bench which has long-since been swallowed up by the English Ivy I planted three years ago, I thought back to last summer. My daughter called to say she and a friend were coming for a visit. They arrived in full make-up and skirts with heels, prompting me to wonder at the occasion. My daughter produced a monstrous high-tech/high-end, camera featuring a nearly foot-long snout of a lens, and explained that her friend needed updated photographs of herself for a project she was working on.

"And, I told her we should come here. Your yards are just picturesque!"










It is one of the loveliest compliments she has ever paid me...


And, of course, there was music....

















© Copyright 2007-2008 Stacye Carroll