Saturday

 It's been a wonderful day.  It was a cold start when retrieving the paper and checking on the birds.  I was a little hesitant in going back outside but I put on my fleece pullover, long sleeved shirt and grabbed the garden tools.  I worked on the gazing ball changing a few things that made me feel better.  It's a bit more solidly anchored in its dish of Russell marbles.  

Then I moved on to spreading preen on another flowerbed that will have a fresher look this year.  That meant fluffing the bed getting rid of any potential weeds that could have started to grow but were still out of sight.  It's ready for a lot of Lantana, loved by the butterflies. 

Spring has also started in Michigan with three soccer games for the day spread between two boys.  Eli had two and Adam one.  And what you see flying across the sky is not apple blossoms but snow.  I don't think it goes well with green grass, but it is what it is.  

I spent some time just watching and waiting in case the Orioles were close by.  Haven't seen a thing.  

The rest of the day until nearly 3 pm was spent with garden tools cleaning up spots that could use a little more attention.  One group of cup plants was taking over the Holly Hocks so they lost some of themselves.  Other groups are just fine.  I did some edging.  And spent hours enjoying the warmth of the sun, the song of the birds and all that goes with spring weather.  What a gift to my mental health bucket.    

Cock-a-doodle-do moved a bit to another spot where the view of him was a little better.  He did not complain.  Stuck on himself is what I've said for many years. 

I filled one of my pots by digging out plants.  There is plenty of material to pick from.  I found the log a few years ago along the side of the road near Nora.  It's full of interest. The dragon fly was made by my friend Diane.  

Last summer I did some major overhauling of daylily beds.  They had stopped blooming and needed thinning.  Well, some have filled in, and some are a bit slow in the process.  This bed is the latter.  To fill in empty spaces I moved Doug's wonderful fossil collection to this bed.  Given another year or so I'll be moving rocks somewhere else but for now they are answering their latest call. There are two more beds needing a change.  It remains to be seen if it happens the summer of 2024.  That job is a tough one. 

The afternoon saw the chair emerge from the garage to find a resting place with a view.  It needs just a tad of adjusting and then I'm sure to find that place to rest my bones and enjoy what's happening.  It's a great place that includes a view of the blue bird house among other things.  Could the orange color bring on the orange birds?  

There are so many pretty combinations of plants that just appear each year.  Here you see Japanese ferns with wild ginger.  Tiny little three leafed Jacks are at the bottom of the picture.  Sweet Woodriff is showing it's pretty little white spring flowers. The blue flowers are Woodland Forget Me Nots. The rock is a huge piece of cave formation that yes, comes from Doug. 

It was a smashingly great day of doing that I enjoyed so much bringing to the garden interest and enjoyment. A place where positive distractions abound.  How blessed I am. I wish this for others who could be healed in such a place.