Gardening

Last year I decided to try seed saving. It was pretty successful and I had a lot of seeds. My whole butterfly garden this year was completely seeded by seeds from last year.

So this year I am saving even more. Today I was picking the seed pods off the camellia balsam plants and a big, fat bumble bee came to pollinate a zinnia that was mere inches away from my shoulder! I didn't freak out, or run away screaming (keep in mind that I am VERY allergic to bees!); I just sat there calmly and continued picking the seed pods. When it left, I left, too. I'm just glad I wasn't wearing pink or yellow!

Later, I saw a butterfly on the ground. Sweetie, our chiweenie, eats anything that moves on the ground (her favorite is live cicadas!) so I picked the butterfly up and set it on a zinnia. The little butterfly said, "Fanks, Mom."

My garden is my happy place. I love all the critters out there (except spiders), even though the snakes still startle me every time I see one. And I am SOOO happy that I have more bees and butterflies than ever before. I love that I can do my part to save the bees and butterflies, grow food and flowers. Maybe there really is a reason I was exiled to the Midwest.