May 1st

The funny thing about May 1st is that I always associate it with Workers' Day -- as "celebrated" in the post war Poland of my youth. A holiday. A day off from work. And yet, since I've moved to the farmette a half a dozen years ago, May 1st has never ever been a day of leisure. There's too much going on in the garden right now.

True to form, today I really killed myself out there. All the more so since Ed, in an effort to help, whacked his back out and was left to groan on the floor all day long as I struggled to stay on task.

I know I preach a slow, zen like approach to gardening, but with a late season start and an Ed who is often busy with work projects and an ever expanding gardening space, things can get a little whacky at this time of the year.

So, I worked today. Endlessly, energetically. (Well, at least initially it was with energy.)

Just a few notes and comments for Ocean:

First, a morning look at the daffodils. Finally, vibrant and abundant!






On the picnic table, you'll find the flowers I wanted to put in today. (I only managed to work with five of them. Who know that there was garden fabric to dig up and tear out?)






And here is my beloved Java, hovering over the baby chicks. Today, they learn to follow her a little. She is their mentor, their mom, their kind old friend.






Breakfast on the porch -- this is just before Ed gave into a spell of back spasms.






And the rest of the hours of the morning and early afternoon are a blur of heaving, digging, oh, the usual May 1st stuff.


The late afternoon is a little special and offers a bit of a break: Snowdrop's mommy and I both pick her up at school...






And we drive over to Kopke's Greenhouse to pick up a flower basket for their home.






"This one!"






Snowdrop is charged with caring for it. I think she'll do just fine!







Snowdrop and I tackle some of the lighter gardening demands at her place as well. The girl keeps me entertained as I prune last year's spent flowers.







We don't work for long. By early evening we stop and take our drinks to the back deck, where I take one of my curious and not unfunny time release photos.






It's a lovely evening respite!


Home again. Ed's feeling a tad better and we talk yet again about what to do with the young chicks. I had done a thorough cleaning of the coop earlier and I told him that if he thinks everyone's ready for it, we can place the little ones there for the night.

We do it. It feels like I'm sending off kids to college. There will be rough times! I'm so sorry I can't always be there for you! Sigh...

I'll end with evening daffodils. I ache in the good way that one aches after a day well spent. An amazing and amazingly productive day! Even if it seems I hardly made a dent in all that I had set out to do.