Update on the Storm

Hello everyone, I wanted to take a moment to give you guys an update. There have been so many words of encouragement from so many people. Phillip thanks again for your post on Dirt Therapy, your loyal readers have left wonderful, wonderful notes for us and with each one we’ve felt a little better. Things have really started to fall back into place. One of my biggest concerns was the original estimate of damage done by the insurance company. I wondered how in the world we were going to get everything done with the small amount of money that was given to us. This past Tuesday a second adjuster came by and took another look. Evidently she thought our first estimate was grossly under projected and saw fit to give us a huge supplement payment. We now have the money to fix all the damage that was done. Plus! We had heat yesterday for the fist time in nine days! It was wonderful! Sadly they did "Total" my convertible, the repairs were twice as much as the value of my little emerald baby so she will have to be retired at the tender age of thirteen years. It is going to be very hard to say goodbye to something I've pampered for so long just because of extensive cosmetic damages. Chrysler parts are outrageous and she took a severe beating from the flying debris. If I had adequate storage I would buy her back from the insurance company as salvage. Unfortunately, any convertible parked for a long period of time will start to dry rot almost instantly and before you know it all that is left is a crunchy mildewed mess.

Now to the garden, the most remarkable thing has happened. News of our troubles was posted on the Dave’s Garden Website by a gardening friend and there have been numerous offers of help from Master Gardeners meeting in Tupelo in April. All wanting to contribute to the rebuilding of our garden I’m terribly afraid I won’t be able to make it there because I’ve missed so much work, but just the offers of assistance were encouraging all on there on. In addition the most wonderful kind hearted lady by the name Martha even went so far as to mail us a gift card to the local garden supply chain. How can you possibly get more compassionate, kindhearted and caring than that? It literally brought me to tears. Martha if you are reading this I asked the angels for a special blessing for you and I’m certain I heard them say Amen. You are one in a million and a child of light in the truest sense. I’m starting to see this more as a new opportunity than a loss and Jamie and I owe it all to you guys and your support. Thank you with all our sincerity. Today, I even went and bought two new Eastern Redbuds to replace the ones broken by the storm. See, it’s already begun. The sad part is the house still isn’t even completely repaired yet. LOL Hey, a gardener has to keep his priorities strait you know. *wink*

Photos from the Storm and Garden

Here are photos from the storm and current pictures of the garden. I won’t comment much, I think the photos will speak for themselves. Despite my depression and deep sadness concerning the garden I am glad that our home is still standing and we are safe, our loss is so small compared to others. Phillip, thank you so much for the kind words you posted in your blog.

Our Home



The Garden



The House Across the Street



The Garden as it Looks Now






All That is Left of Our Hard Work

The Only Bloom in Our Garden and Our Littel Ray of Hope

I know we will persevere, I have no doubt about that and I know things will get better. It just seems like such a giant step backwards and we worked so hard last year you just couldn’t imagine. I do know this, everything happens for a reason, so I guess there is reason we must start over.

Some Very Sad News

Unfortunately this past Sunday afternoon our neighborhood was hit by an F3 tornado estimated to be ½ a mile wide. The majority of the homes here were destroyed. Our home suffered some extensive damage but not to the degree of that of our poor neighbors. As a result our garden has for the most part been destroyed. We spent two days cleaning and I was feeling a little better about it, but I am sad to report that the heavy equipment used to move out the trees today wiped out another large portion of it as well as turning the lawn into complete mush. At this point I’m feeling that we don’t have the money or the strength to continue with our garden dreams. Only time will tell… I’ll be posting some pictures very soon, and we will continue to salvage what we can. Meanwhile we are blessed to be safe and healthy.

We Got Snow!

We got snow yesterday! Jamie and I were so excited we stood at the window for hours and watched it fall. I know, it’s so very little compared to what some people are use to getting. It’s such a rare thing in the South even when we just get a slight dusting it instantly turns every adult back into a child. Here are just a few pictures from the garden and lawn. Meanwhile, I’m counting down the days to spring.

The Front Lawn

Cast Iron Plant and Rhododendron

The Buddha

Cast Iron Plant and Chrysanthemum

The Japanese Lantern

Home for the Holidays

Well, another Christmas has come and gone and I can’t help, but wonder what is in store for us in the New Year. This past Sunday, Jamie and I went to my parent’s house to do the holiday thing. My family always gathers together the Sunday before Christmas. In the past we had our dinner on Christmas Eve. Since that was the busiest day of the year for my work I never got to attend so they changed the date. It’s so close to Thanksgiving we don’t have a formal dinner, we choose to have Bar-B-Que instead. Momma cooks seven or eight Boston Butts on the smoker and boils a bunch of chicken to make hash. Lately my youngest sister has had to take over the task of preparing the meal, because Momma is getting older and it’s become too much for her to do. She’s seventy-two now and she has difficulty standing for more that a few minutes at the time. She still manages to get that big ole pot of rice cooked to go with the BBQ and hash. Even if it does wear her out… bless her heart. I’m not really sure how many of us there are anymore. I have six sisters and two brothers, most all have spouses and all have children. If I had to guess I would say there are about sixty of us now. It’s impossible to buy gifts for everyone, so we do Dirty Santa. Monday was Christmas Eve and it’s also my mother-in-laws birthday so we headed north for the day. My parent’s live in the very southern part of the state, Jamie’s live in the northern part and we live smack dab in the middle so it works our perfect for us. Our drive to the holler was a wonderful trip. It’s in the foot hills and beginnings of the Appalachian Mountains. The skies were overcast and the temperature was in the twenties so there was still frost everywhere at nine AM. As far as the eyes could see were hills and valleys of brilliant silver. It was a spectacular vision; I could see magic all around us. On our way in, we stopped at the café Jamie’s family runs and had breakfast with his mom, grandmother, and nine or ten other family members that just happened to be there when we drove up. The rest of the day was spent with his sister and brothers making Christmas/Birthday dinner for his mother. Later that evening we ate, opened presents and visited with his family. I really enjoy my visits and wouldn’t mind living in the holler at some point, even though there is absolutely nothing there other than his family. We spent Christmas day eating left over pizza and veggin’ out together on the couch watching seasonal movies. It was wonderful! It was one of the most restful days I’ve had in a long time. Hope your Christmas was great too!

This summer we were lucky enough to be chosen to host the birth of several Monarch butterflies. Below is a start to finish of the process, from the mother laying eggs to the new butterflies drying their wings. The slideshow has most likely stopped at this point if you want to see the show again click on the first image in the line and then click "yes". You can also get a description of the photo by clicking on the large image. One of the pictures is kind of blurry due to the rapid movement of the larva. It's the best of the images I took of that particular stage, that thing was wiggling like crazy.

I Found Color Today!

I found color in the yard today! Yaaaaaaay! It amazing how just a couple of blooms can bring you so much pleasure. The garden is a disaster right now, there are leaves everywhere. The old oak next door is dropping them like crazy. I have an incessant need to keep the yard clean and I’m usually in it every weekend raking, and cleaning up. This weekend, I’ve made a decision to let it go. I’ve stayed on top the of the leaf detail and I’ve decided those few oak leaves will still be there next weekend if I decide to rake them up then. I read in a blog some where gardening is not a hobby, it’s an obsession and no truer statement has ever been made. Jamie had his finals last night and he is out of school until January and I’m looking forward to us spending time together. No homework, no yard work, just me and him time.

Below are some pictures of the Yellow Irises that are blooming now. We’ve planted so many different species this year it would be a long boring record if I listed them all for you. I’ll just post pictures as they bloom. We still have several hundred Dutch Iris bulbs that need to be planted this month. We really do need to get that done. I hate not knowing the name of flowers in our garden, so once again, if you know this one please take a moment to send me a message with the name of it. Or perhaps you can point me in the direction of an Iris Diva you just happen to be acquainted with?

Did you know that Iris was the Goddess of the Rainbow? She was also the personal handmaiden and messenger of Hera. In ancient times this flower (purple) was planted on the burial sites of recently deceased women to mark the new graves so she could find them. Iris escorted the souls of women to the afterlife and the rainbow was the path she took. Hence, the flowers were named in honor of her. I love it when a flower has a beautiful legend attached to it.

Unknown Yellow Iris

Alas, the mums are also nameless. I still haven’t made up my mind if they will be staying or not. When I bought them it was not because I’m a fan of mums it was because they were 95% off and I’m a sucker for a good plant deal. I’m also not above dumpster diving for a half live plant either.

Until next time...