The Birds and The Bees…and More
A fresh batch of new volunteers came through the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden today during their orientation.
Maria is smart enough to address the question proactively: no, there are no dogs buried here. Just a quiet place to remember, gather with friends and enjoy some peace and quiet with those in our charge.
We try to make the garden a welcome place for all – the birds and bees – and more.
There are plenty of warm places to sun or hide for lizards and our friendly snakes.
We leave bunny burrows alone as long as they only take their share.
Makeshift bird baths, seeds, worms and ample bugs (no pesticides) support a variety of feathered friends.
And we plant purposefully to attract bees and hummingbirds including butterfly bush, gaura, coreopsis, gaillardia, bee balm, dahlia, lavender, sage, aster, daylily, coneflower, verbena, yarrow, zinnia, delphinium, penstemon, lantana, milkweed and more.
Fittingly, Saint Francis – the patron saint of animals and the environment – watches over. Maria has just completed his new stone pedestal…a fitting throne and a beautiful addition to the garden.
He whispers to the pups – like newbies Chip and Cookie – ‘everything will be alright’.
And the garden whispers to us in the cheerful chatter of birds, the hum of busy bees, and butterflies gracefully gliding from bed to bed.
“Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending.” ~ Author Unknown
Wordless Wednesday: Daylily- Fleeting Beauties
Wild Thing
Little Baldwin was one of four feral pups literally raised in the wild, the son of a Golden Mom and Black Lab Dad. Somehow, his Dad – broken jaw and all – got them to a firehouse for rescue. Little by little they learned the ways of loved dogs.
One by one, they were adopted; little Baldwin – the mightiest of them all – was last to be picked. Suddenly alone, he was not quite so brave anymore.
“The king of all wild things, was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all.”
He attended a couple of puppy classes, but at the end of each, he went back to his yard as the others went home. He was still a rescue dog.
“There should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen.”
That place is called ‘home.’ One day, these very nice people took a look at him and said “you’re the one we’ve been waiting for.”
“And the walls became the world all around.”
Just a few weeks later, Baldwin – now Duke – is not looking from the outside in – he is officially enrolled in puppy training with his best buds Oreo and Sage. Each lesson begins with a little wild time to get the energy out.
“And now…let the wild rumpus start!”
“And the wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws.”
“But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go- We’ll eat you up- we love you so!” ~ Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are
Inside all of us is… hope.
Inside all of us is… fear.
Inside all of us is… adventure.
Inside all of us is a wild thing.
Wordless Wednesday: Evening Light
Transcendent Moments
The weather turned very warm again this weekend…brushing 100-degrees and testing our commitment!
Maria and Ina were both out…my garden partners returned after their treks far and wide. Defying the temperatures and the bunny literally staring her in the face, Maria has planted rows and rows of tiny sunflower plants. I suspect that they are just tonight’s dinner – but you have to admire her persistence. It is a battle of wills now. Some will remember that we disposed of the bunnies’ favorite den – the monster blackberry bramble – a season ago. Now they have taken up residence right in the middle of Maria’s sunflowers. Bunny revenge!
The heat brings the dogs to the garden – seeking shade and some cool grass to roll in. This is Jenna who arrived last night – literally pulled from a shelter by one of our awesome volunteers in her final hour. Her joy (and ours) is obvious.
Gypsy is another new arrival and a certified fence jumper. We’ll have to work on that wanderlust and find her a home that she’ll never want to leave.
Canelo is a young boy – only about one year of age – who lost his leg and has really struggled with recovery. Most tripods bounce back quickly, but not this boy. So our volunteers crawled through the 120-degree attic to find and rehab this cart for him. It immediately changed his perspective; we have hope that it changes his future as well.
Hunter is the last of the Reservoir Dogs still with us. Such a sweet boy. He and his tennis ball are inseparable –
but he did discover that he would trade a ball for a birdie…if only he could catch one!
The garden was warm and buzzing with hundreds of honey bees, gratefully soaking up all that was offered.
“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.” ~
John Milton
Wordless Wednesday: Pink
Lifting Power
Hummingbirds are considered a symbol tirelessness, perseverance and joy.
The fact that one took up residence in our outdoor alcove was probably a good sign for this week which required the first two qualities in spades and ultimately led to the third.
When one of our previously adopted Reservoir Dogs got loose from his home, our team sprang into action and our community came together. With temperatures unseasonably warm and hovering around 100, there was no time to spare. The call went out through social media for help and our Homeward Bound volunteers answered in force. Social media is an amazing tool in the rescue toolbox, but when your pet first goes missing, there is just no substitute for old-fashioned boots on the ground. Volunteers searched from early light until very late at night, driving, walking and crawling through bushes in parks, cemeteries and alleys. And so it was – at 5:30 on a Saturday morning – that our beloved Michael (now Cooper) was spotted hiding in an alley by one of our volunteers. An hour of so later, he was safely home.
Tirelessness…perseverance…and joy.
There was joy for two other Reservoir Dogs this week – Joshua and Grandpa Buddy went home as well.
Only Hunter remains. It is just a matter of time and right fit for this special boy.
Back in the garden, we have a crisis of a different proportion to attend to: Spotted Cucumber Beetles have invaded.
With the surrounding rice fields flooded and the heat dispensing with the rest of the field weeds, they have come to the garden to dine and multiply.
I read that Tangle Trap in upside down paper cups with use of Oil of Cloves as lure can help reduce the population without insecticides (which would be harmful to our bees, butterflies and ladybugs). If you have any experience with this – please weigh in to rescue our beautiful garden before it is not!
To all of the volunteers who follow this blog and helped in the search…thank you. I’m so proud to be a part of this team.
“It is a fact that in the right formation, the lifting power of many wings can achieve twice the distance of any bird flying alone.” ~ Author Unknown
Wordless Wednesday: Pax
On a Wing and a Prayer
Small miracles surround us. Hummingbirds…
Baby Mourning Doves…
Honey bees…
and Love in a Mist (aptly named).
This collection of miracles flew in just a week ago on a wing (traveling from Taiwan – where it’s not so good to be a dog) and a prayer (of rescue and a forever home).
One – Mary – has already found her way there.
Abigail – another of the ten Reservoir Dogs rescued from a hoarding situation – has recovered from her ear surgery and also found her way home this weekend.
In a world that sometimes feels filled with bad news, these small miracles help to balance our corner of the universe.
Two seasons ago, all Maria had to do was plop a sunflower seed in the ground and it sprouted a stalk rising over our heads.
Last year was disappointing, and this year’s seeds and sprouts have either been swept away or served up to snails as appetizers (balancing out the snails’ universe, I guess). She is still putting her faith in another round of seedlings started at home; but she put her money on a few sunflowers from the nursery.
Sometimes, prayer just needs a little help.
“Grow flowers of gratitude in the soil of prayer.” ~ Terri Guillemets
Happy week, all.
Wordless Wednesday: Heads or Tails?
Metamorphosis
“The butterfly is a flying flower,
The flower a tethered butterfly.” ~ Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun
Butterflies appear like flying petals flitting through the air. So beautiful – we forget the transformation required to achieve that beauty. From cocoon to caterpillar – their beginnings are far more humble.
“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.” ~ Richard Buckminster Fuller
We chuckle when people meet their perfect pup at Homeward Bound and think the dog was always so. Sometimes that is the case. But more often than not, a transformation is required – to deal with medical concerns –
or socialization needs, and sometimes, behavioral challenges in order for them to be their perfect selves.
This class is nearly ready for graduation. Test day is rapidly approaching and, from the looks of things, they should do just fine!
Gardens also require – as they say – equal measure of inspiration and perspiration. But we are reveling in our third season and the transformation that continues to unfold.
The Rose Garden.
The Cottage Garden.
The Fragrant Garden.
The Perennial Garden.
The Hummingbird Garden.
The Entry Arbor.
“Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine.” ~ Jeffrey Glassberg
Gardens For Goldens 