Rules

Where I now live there are rules. One of them is that I need permission to plant any tree or shrub. I applied properly to see if I could plant two trees that would not grow no taller than 20 feet. The person who gives permission must have been very busy last month since it took over a week for her to let me know that I could plant one tree and one shrub.

I applied before the heat wave, but wasn’t able to buy and plant my dogwood tree until right at the start of the heat wave. Last night after the deer devoured several clusters of hydrangeas, she started heading straight for my new dogwood. This is the tree that I was given permission to plant. It cost more than my last grocery run, and was supposed to be deer resistant!

My grandsons were at the living room window, watching in awe the first deer that they had seen in real life! And they saw their grandma chasing it across the street…encouraging it to go to the beautiful buffet on the corner.

Whenever I go to visit my grandsons in Europe, my daughter lays down the rules for me to follow. There are many, and I try very hard to follow them in order to have a peaceful visit. They arrived at my home a few days ago, and to allow for a potentially good visit I kept the rules to a minimum of one rule. That was to wait 3-5 days before visiting my mother in the care home. This was the advice given to me from the nursing staff at the care home in order to keep the residents safe from any potential illness picked up while traveling. Yes, it was one rule too many, and impossible for them to follow. So, now I pay for it.

Gardening helps me get through the stress. I have many more flowers, and one shrub to plant in the coming days and will need to spend time morning and evening watering by hand. I’m not sure how long I will get the silent treatment this time, but I’m sure it will outlast the visit. 😢