Happy June First. The beginning of Finally Feels Like Summer in the North and Hurricane Season and High Heat in the South. For some, The First of any month also finds us saying, “Rabbit, Rabbit”, a custom that possibly originated in England in the early 1900s and is said to bring good fortune throughout the month. One can only “hop” for that.
I did a lot of planting this week. In the span of four years I’ve planted and gardened in three very different yards and zones. At the Jersey Shore, where my late husband, Rich and I resided for 25 years, my rule-of-thumb was to wait for Mother’s Day to safely plant as the hard freezes were done for the season. There is something special about the appearance of the bright colors of the early spring flowers after a prolonged frigid and dark winter. I loved the way the lilac bushes and forsythia bloomed with their vibrant violets and yellows contrasting with our grey saltbox-style house. With its grey paint, many seemed not to grasp that it was an actual log home. Recently I learned that its new owners are removing the paint to expose its natural wood beauty. This would make Rich happy.
In 2020, when Rich and I moved to Southeast Coastal Georgia I enjoyed working with a longer growing season in the rambling yard of our beloved stucco ranch. I loved the two corner gardens in our large lanai, a screened patio. I hope my tenants are enjoying the lanai and garden where Rich and I got to be Southerns together for a short time. Right now I’m imagining the Gardenia bush out back is in full white bloom. I miss that house, but sometimes the memories it holds are best recalled from a distance. I’ll know when it’s time to “let go”.
These days I’m happy to be “toiling” on the land surrounding a log home that looks like it should be up in the Adirondacks, not on a lakefront in Florida, infused with palms, pines and ancient Live Oaks. I’ve taken to haunting the local Lowes and filling up my cart with all kinds of plants languishing on the Clearance Rack overflowing with a multitude of flowers and tropical plants. I love bringing these poor parched reduced-priced plantings home and watching them come back to life with good soil and water.
On the animal-front, Jackson, a beautiful mixed-breed we adopted in February, enjoyed his first visit to the veterinarian yesterday. At six-months, he continues to grow, and grow. He did well and is very healthy thanks to the local rescue that saved him, and his litter, after a rough start in the world; abandoned at a local tire shop down the road.
Down here in rural Putnam County, a very large underserved area, dogs and cats roam free, often not “Fixed”; many are neglected or abandoned resulting in a large population of homeless animals. I’ve been trying to help the Animal Rescue Konsortium (ARK) as they tirelessly carry out their mission to help these animals and our community, but it’s a daunting task that requires funding and volunteers, and change. They are not alone in this quest that seems to play out in many regions of the nation.
This week is Pet Appreciation Week. I know many will say that this is every week, but there are so many animals that are not appreciated. The key to change is education that hopefully will lead to future enlightenment. All I can do is try to help this group, and others, to make some kind of progress on this front. Jackson was adopted from ARK and is enjoying a good life, but not all are so fortunate and I thank my friends, family and colleagues who understand and have given a pet-in-need a chance at a better life – and know that because of that, their life is better, too.
Have a great first week of June. Hop on.