Hope's Foundation is Built in the Garden

"The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring."

 ~Bern Williams

A finch enjoys the inverted shower of a barrel fountain.

With the brightening of the garden's clothing from winter neutral into spring Technicolor, the landscape is budding up full of hope. In the moments after the raindrops puddle over greening grass, gardeners remember. For optimism to become real, effort is required.  

Sometimes I am jealous of the dove on the rooftop. It is happy just for what is.  He doesn't know, nor even care, how much work this garden is. Still, I take his return as a sign of acceptance.  More than that, last week when the flock flew thick and low throughout the neighborhood, I felt appreciation.

Birds lack guile- if they didn't like it here, they wouldn't come.

Goldfinch LOVE Nyger seed

With my husband's illness and now almost complete recovery, my time and effort this past season was intensely with him.  Necessary and with no regrets, this diversion resulted in a garden gone too wild.

Now, as spring buds burst open, I am back tending the garden. My heart full of hope that I can spruce up the hospitality offered our  feathered guests. Thank goodness, the rising color flashes strikes a visual cadence to quick-step a spring clean.

 

Fountains require maintenance. The tired extension cord was retired and replaced in the kitchen garden barrel. The junction to the fountain motor wrapped in electrical tape to prevent an inconvenient electrical short.  The timer cleared of a spider family, it was time to fill with fresh water. Powered up, it was an instant hit to the cheeping throng.

The old wrought iron fence used to keep in a little dog which once adopted us.  We called him "Puppy" for his Danny DeVito Jr-like stature. Barely large enough to qualify as an outdoor dog, "Puppy" should have been named "Houdini" for his penchant to escape. 

We no longer have male dogs to protect produce from being baptised from beneath heisted leg. What was useful in his lifetime has outlived its purpose. Now it reminds me of something not lovely- prison bars. It is time to consider effort is best put to removing the barrier rather than the expense of needed refurbishing.

So the foundation of hope is built in the garden. One chore, one accomplishment, one decision at a time.