volunteers

What is it about volunteer plants sprouting up as seedlings in our yards and gardens that gives me such a thrill ? Is it that they mysteriously show up, unaided by human hand, in unexpected places...leaving us to wonder just how the seed got there in the first place ? Maybe it's that little feeling of gratitude: our garden was chosen as the perfect site for this particular plant. Now, I do spend an inordinate amount of time ripping out volunteer grasses, mints and bindweed gone wild, but I still feel surprised and honored when something totally unexpected shows up. This little Dill plant was hiding amongst a thick patch of weeds next to the strawberries , down in the Fenced Garden. A bird was almost certainly responsible for delivering the seed ( or seeds ) from my neighbor's Dill Forest that takes over her garden every Summer. But still. Its tender pale stalk and feathery bluish leaves were instantly recognised for what it was, and carefully weeded around.

Wow...it's been awhile since I've posted. Last i wrote we were heading out to AZ to spend time with my brother. He thrived under Mom and S's care while in Sun Lakes, but once home started to lose weight again. He's now in the hospital...I think it's been a week since he went in. Liquid nutrition is all that he can take in now, and the hospital is trying to track down how he can get the stuff he needs outside of the hopital. Uh, why don't they just sell him what he needs, since no one ele on the island carries the stuff ? How hard is that ?
The dinosaur amongst the pansies is to remind myself just how fleeting life on Earth is, to fully appreciate our lives and those of our family's. The Brontosaurus ( does that name still apply ? ) was found on a gravel road while out on a morning walk with my walking friends...seemed a shame to leave it lying in the road. It had already lost one leg and deep dusty gouges run the length of its body. Why not give it a new life in our garden ? Toads, slugs, worms, birds and uncounted insects will keep it company.