Tuesday, March 22, 2022

A Day With Daughters And One Fine Grandson


I took that picture this morning when I let the chickens out. That's Miss Violet up there at the top and Dottie in the foreground. I would say that they are friends but I am not sure that Violet actually has friends. She and the rest of the flock tolerate each other and no one has pecked at her in a good long while. Chickens do absolutely have favorite friends and I bet anything that someone has done a study not unlike one of Jane Goodall's with the chimps, tracking and recording the activities between the different hens in a flock, observing those who are dominant and those who are subservient. There is a lot going on in a backyard flock of chickens. They are such flocking creatures because in numbers there is safety and it's easiest for the rooster, if there is one, to protect the hens if he can see all of them in one area but some chickens just seem to be born more as loners than others. Miss Gracie, as we speak, is looking for seeds under the bird feeder all by herself, no other chooks in sight, seemingly as content as she can be. Sometimes a hen will suddenly realize that she is all by herself and she may set up a squalling call to try and locate the rest of her community. As I have said many times before, the noise that a hen makes when she has laid her egg is the signal for the rooster to run to the henhouse to collect her and escort her back to the others. Since they circle the yard more than once every day, there is no real telling where they will be located at certain times. I call it the stations of the cross and they make their pilgrimages as devotedly as any saint of old. 

Jessie, Lily, Lauren, Levon and I met up today at Tallahassee Nurseries which is the oldest and biggest nursery in Tallahassee. I've been taking my children there their entire lives and although they used to sometimes complain about my endless shopping for plants, they are now as enthusiastic as I am, if not more so. It is a lovely nursery and big enough so that I do not feel frantic when I'm there the way I do in the smaller nursery that I sometimes go to.  Esthetically, it is a beautiful place with lots of room and many areas in which to wander and explore and wish for endless amounts of money in order to buy all of the beautiful plants we desire, along with gorgeous pots and statuary, fountains, and of course, wind chimes. 


The perspective is all off here but those wind chimes are huge and when the wind blows hard enough to move them, they make the deepest tones, a sort of Zen sound that resonates in the body. 

The wind was blowing today and we are forecast to be getting a cold front and behind that, a storm with high winds, tornado warnings, lots of rain...
The usual. It's not going to get nearly as cold as it was a few weeks ago but definitely cooler. Even so there were hundreds of people at the nursery, moving slowly along, reading plant tabs, pondering, picking up, putting down, picking up. We did that too. 


Levon is a most excellent wagon puller as we all know. 


I almost forced him to pose in front of the dinosaur for me. He didn't complain too much. 


And there he is in the greenhouse, an entire exotic and beautiful world of plants and a little pond with a tiny waterfall and big, chonky fishes.

After we all bought as much as we could rationalize buying, we went to lunch. Lily had brought Levon another dress of Magnolia's that she's outgrown. This one has a tulle skirt and a mermaid on the top part. He was enchanted and had to put it on in the car before we went into the restaurant. "Do you feel beautiful?" I asked him as we were standing in line to order.
"Yes," he said and he should have. 


I am thinking that I should make him a dress with a camo top and brown and green tulle for the skirt. Although frankly, he is as happy as can be with his mermaid dress. This reminds me of being at a friend's house many, many years ago and they had a boy perhaps five or six at the time who was dressed entirely in his sister's Little Mermaid costume and obviously, someone had teased him and he ran up to his mother and said tearfully, "But I AM the little mermaid!" 
I will never forget that. He is a grown man now, married and everything, as manly a man as there can be but to me, he will always be THE Little Mermaid. 

One more thing- at the nursery we ran into a woman I know from when she and Lily worked together and I haven't seen her in forever as she retired a few years back. We hugged and she said such sweet things about my blog and our family that tears are coming to my eyes right now as I write this. She says she reads my posts every day, every day, and so right now I'd just like to say thank-you to her again. Those words meant more to me than she can know. 

Love...Ms. Moon


32 comments:

  1. What a magical place to spend time in. The other thing about nurseries is that as well as more money and more space at home, you also need a staff of gardeners to execute the plant plans.

    I'm so glad he gets to wear his dresses and nobody tries to put him off. Lucky boy, nice family.

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    1. It really is a beautiful place. I like to think that if I ever get wheelchair bound, my kids will take me there and roll me around to see the all the flowers.
      Levon knows what he likes and I'm glad his family lets him be who he wants to be which currently, is sometimes a boy in a pretty dress.

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  2. The mermaid dress looks so comfortable and he wears it well. Going to the nursery to buy plants *sigh*...too early here and it is too muddy. That is a swell nursery- lovely day for you.Whatever your friend said about your blog , I agree- touchstone!

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    1. Thank you, Linda Sue!
      And just remember- when you are still able to go to your nurseries and wander around and enjoy, we'll be stuck in the air conditioning, trying to get the energy up to go jump in the river with all of the screaming kids.

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  3. My calendar can post recurring dates in perpetuity. Every May 15th on my calendar days DO NOT BUY PLANTS BEFORE TODAY. It probably should be on June 1, but mid may is the longest I can hold off.
    The little mermaid is beautiful.

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  4. Oh sweet Mary, now you brought tears to my eyes. It was so great seeing you all today and yes, that mermaid dress is perfect for Levon.
    Sharon Z.

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    1. Sharon, I have thought about your words all day yesterday and today. I appreciate you so much.

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  5. He looks beautiful in that dress, and what a wonderful lunch and compliment about your blog!

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    1. Ah, we folks do love our lunches, don't we? And it was such a nice one. The compliment even better.

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  6. What a perfect day, that Nursery is the kind I love to spend time in too. Levon looked like he had a great time all around.

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    1. I think Levon truly loves being the "only" on Tuesdays and Thursdays when he gets to go out with his mama and aunties and grandma. These days will be gone by next year.
      Sigh. Sob. Sigh.

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  7. I know the feeling of being in a well-stocked nursery and knowing there is only so much space and so much energy and (need I say it) so much money. But it's so much fun to explore it. That boy is gorgeous.

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    1. Yes. It's hard to rein in all the wants that come from being in a good nursery. Getting older has helped. I damn well know I can't keep up with too many plants.

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  8. What a beautiful day you have had with people you love. That blue mermaid dress is Levon’s color. I love your family’s ease.

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    1. I was wearing a teal dress and he liked that we matched. We do love that color.
      We are pretty easy with each other. I know your family is that way too.

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  9. That nursery sounds like a fabulous place to spend a few hours and I love the gazebo structure those chimes are hanging from. i love the colour of the tulle skirt on Levon's new dress.

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    1. The nursery is HUGE! We didn't even go to the tree sections or the rose section or the azalea section...
      We mostly just saw vegetables and green house plants. And a few flowers.
      Isn't that a nice mermaid dress?

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  10. Your blog is the first thing I read every morning sitting with my first cup of tea. I love your writing and the love,humour and caring that shows in every post. I can relate to many of your experiences and just know that the world would be a much better place if people like you were in charge and much better fed. With love from Scotland.

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    1. Oh, Jessica! Scotland! How I've always yearned to go there. I think I have some Scot's blood. Scots' blood? Whatever. It seems so magical to think of. Scotland and Ireland. Yes. I'd love to go to those places.
      Thank you so much for those sweet, kind words. They mean so much.

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  11. I think that I mentioned to you, some years ago, now that a girlfriend of one of my boys did a comprehensive study about whether chickens have friends. Sadly I have no contact with her and wouldn't know if there are any results online.

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    1. Yes! I was remembering that, Frances! But I couldn't for the life of me recall where to find it. I should google it!

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  12. How great to meet someone "in the wild" who reads and appreciates your blog. I think Levon looks terrific in his new dress! That's quite a garden center -- much larger than anything around here. (Ours is more like a Lowe's or Home Depot.)

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    1. That nursery takes up acres, Steve! It was started when land was cheap out where it is. Now, of course, it's one of the most desirable areas of Tallahassee.

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  13. Your garden center reminds me of one we have here in Naperville, IL called "The Growing Place". Like Joanne, tho, I don't buy flowers/plants until after May 15th. It is fun to look, tho!

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    1. It IS fun to look and I am always astounded at all of the people who come out when spring is finally truly here to buy things to put in the ground. It's sort of a reassuring thing, isn't it?

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  14. I can't wait to go to the nursery. My tomato plants are surviving. I had 25 and the cat has destroyed 9 so far. I want to kill that cat. They're now covered in plastic. The cat and I have endless fights over plants. She thinks she should be allowed to dig in all of them, and/or, knock them over. I disagree.

    I'm glad you guys had such a good time and that color mermaid dress looks wonderful on Levon.

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    1. Cats. What are you going to do? They do not accept being told what not to do. I think their motto is, "We are cats. Fuck you, humans."
      That color does suit Levon, doesn't it?

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  15. Such a lucky boy to be able to proudly wear a mermaid dress! Totally styling as well with those shoes in the same color!
    I thought you were way ahead of me as far as planting goes, but I googled your USDA and although I'm about as far away from lloyd as I can be (NW Oregon), we're in the same (hardiness) zone, 8b. Never would have guessed that.

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    1. I know- how serendipitous that Levon's shoes yesterday matched the dress! I love those shoes. We call them Crockenstocks. Or, alternatively, Berkincrocs.
      That seems impossible that we're in the same hardiness zone. Really? Wow.

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  16. They call gin "mother's ruin", but I'm pretty sure it's the garden centre that's really mother's ruin - I'd go broke if I went there too often!

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.