Wilderness

Morning rounds have been modified since the advent of milder weather.

Some nights still dip below freezing which requires dumping ice from the bird baths, but I had to let go of my ice sculpture mania and I have to admit I don’t miss freezing my fingers!

Instead, I now slice carrots and deliver them to the ground hog’s front door so he can have breakfast in bed.

Yes I know, but see, if I don’t feed the little bugger he will eat all my flowers. Preventive measures, you know.

This morning I expanded my route to swing past the lilac bush and offer encouragement.

There is much evidence of blooms forming.

I brushed past it whispering “good luck Lilac!”

Last year a late snowstorm perished all the buds. It was very sad 🙁

There are other bushes around the patio that were not happy last year either, but I can’t say for sure that it was weather that did for them.

The previous Fall I decided they needed to be pruned and it’s just possible I may have got carried away…

The bed where these bushes are planted is overrun by wild pansies. I can hear my mother protesting that “they are untidy!” She objected to untidy gardens.

If one of Mum’s plants got out of order she would declare that it had to go and my father would be summoned to deal with it:

“Smithy! Remove it!”

(They always called each other by their last names.)

But I can’t declare war on pansies. They are one of my favourite flowers, albeit that these are a bit unkempt.

Apart from the spotted knapweed which now lines my driveway, I also have rampant wild strawberries that are totally out of control.

And when I was re-checking the name of the former, I discovered two other kinds of greenery I am familiar with:

“Spotted spurge”…sounds like some awful disease

“Prostrate knapweed”….begging for mercy?

The thing is, I no longer have the ability to even attempt to deal with any of these invaders, so as long as I can still get in and out of my front door, they can all do their “thing”.

After all, they flower too.

Isn’t that what “wilderness” is?