A Full Day and Night

Mothers Day 2008 will be a day to remember. It was marked by two other auspicious events.

Unable to contain myself, the vegetable garden was planted with the peppers, tomato, cucumber, squash and melons starts, four days before the last frost date. After a morning of rain, the skies cleared and a warm sun and moist soils made for easy planting. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day.
















Much anticipated company was coming for a visit and garden tour. It was very windy and cool, not the best conditions, but would the clear skies hold or would the predicted rains reappear?

Just as our company pulled down the gravel drive the first pelts of cold hard rain started to fall.














A determined bunch, we did not let the now intermittent showers and strong cold winds stop us. The resident gardeners and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Frances of Faire Garden and a part of her most delightful family.

The garden tour moved along quickly due to the inclement weather. In the foreground Frances and my building contractor converse. Bulbarella leads the way with the spouse, offspring and the offspring's spouse of Faire Garden. After a rain delay we headed down to my cozy little cabin and garden construction site for the second half of the tour.













The skies continued to darken and the rains became more frequent. The rest of the crew headed inside. This did not stop Frances and I from one of our main missions, the quest for the Black Jack. Two weeks ago 99% of the Jack in the Pulpits I found were black. Now in the strong wind and cold rain all I am finding are green ones. I have noticed many more green ones in my recent treks through the forest. It seems there is a separation of bloom time between the two, the Black Jacks appear first.

Our hunt was successful and we headed back inside.















You can't see everything on a short visit in bad weather that forces you inside. On Frances next visit we will have to hike through the forest to see all the natural wildflowers that grace this mountaintop.













That night will be well remembered too. The rain and winds continued to intensify. It howled. Things went bump in the night. The morning light revealed the force of the winds.













It was a good thing I had strapped and bracketed the cozy cabin together in the days before. The cabin floor was littered with branches. The top of a Black Cherry had come down in the lumber department. Another tree had fallen into the forest along my gravel drive.













Amazingly another tree came down within inches of the Big Blue Pot. That is the third tree down across this path in six months. Obviously the Big Blue Pot has a charmed life.













There are many times when I feel my own life is charmed. Being able to meet Frances and part of her family in person is part of what adds to that sense of a charmed life.