Spring Saturday (Blogophilia 6.13)

Emily noticed the house was empty when they came in from the yard. Pulling a twig out her ponytail, she asked

"Where's Grandma?"

"She took Charlie to the store with her so we could work."

"Oh, OK."

They were sweaty, dirty, and deliriously happy after their morning work. Kathy was proud of her yard and looked forward to each spring. When she was a little girl, she followed her Mom around to the nurseries. The acrid smell of fertilizer thrilled her. Putting her apron of cuttings on the table, she admired them. Everything was blooming early this year. She had expected it, though. The winter had been warm and wet. Emily circled behind her and squealed in delight.

"Momma! They're so pretty."

"Yes, Emmy, they are."

Her eyes scrunched as she kissed the dirty forehead. It smelled like manure. Her mom had said you can't have pretty without some ugly and bad smells turn sweet. She couldn't disagree, but this child needed a bath yesterday. For that matter, so did she.

The child's eyes sparkled as she looked up to her mother.

"Can we make an 'rangement? The little girl asked.

"Sure." Kathy started sorting the flowers into like piles. "Go potty and wash your hands. We'll start when you get back."

"O.K." Emily kissed her and skipped down the hall, humming a tuneless tune.

She pulled the pruning shears out the pocket of the apron and set it on the counter. As she worked, Kathy ticked off in her mind the chores for the next few weeks. The azaleas in the backyard were leggy needed pruning, but they needed to finish blooming before she could it. There was a dead branch in the oak tree near the fence. It was on the far side of the tree so she'd have to get Jimmy to get it for her.

The front lantana was crowding the walk and needed to be cut back to the edging.  Aunt Pam gave her the first cutting just after they had moved into the house. One thing she liked about it was it required almost no maintenance. Just clean out the stray leaves and keep it trimmed.

Like a foreign invasion, dandelions were back in the daylily bed, crowding the thin leaves. Unlike some of her neighbors, she never sprayed them. Chemicals did more harm than good. Once in a while, she'd gather the dark leaves and cook them with lamb chops or toss a few in a salad. The bitter taste worked well with some things. Emily thought it was gross. She had been a picky eater when she was a kid, too.

A green cut glass vase with a vine pattern sat on the kitchen counter. Kathy put it next to shears. It was the only thing she had from her Mom's house. It reminded her of days like this, spending time with her in the yard and being silly. After Daddy left, gardening was the one thing that had kept them both sane. It didn't matter how tired Mom was when she got home, they would spend fifteen minutes weeding the beds and come out smiling. Even though now the plants were in containers at Mom's condo, her love for growing things had not diminished. This wouldn't take long.

Emily came back and Kathy switched gears to a game she played when she was little.

"Quick quiz, Sweetie." Kathy waved over the now organized blossoms. "Do you remember the names of the flowers?"

Emily studied the group. She reached out to the long branch with white flowers first.

"I think this one is a Dogwood."

"Right. Good job." The woody stem was trimmed and slipped inside the first vase. "Now, how about the one with the long stem"

The little girl looked at the droopy bloom at the top. It looked like a bearded clown at the circus.

"That's an Iris."

"Yep. You're getting good at this." A quick snip and it went into the jar, followed a couple of tulips and a spray of white honeysuckles and blue nightshades around the outside.

Emily picked up a gardenia and stuck it in her hair and pranced around the kitchen.

"I'm a movie star!" The smell of flowers and the dirty kid was overpowering. The little girl picked up a daisy and put it in her Momma's hair. "And now you're one, too!"

"Yay!" Kathy laughed. This child was nothing but entertaining. "Now I need a handsome man in a top hat and tails to take me to dinner."

"Like Daddy?" Emily took the flowers out of their hair and slid them in place next to the others.

Especially Daddy." Kathy took the vase to the sink and put water into it. "Anyway we're done and you're filthy. Go get a bath."

"But, Mom!"

"But, nothing. Go."

Sighing, the little girl slumped down the hall, Kathy brought the vase up to the window. The bouquet looked like a family, her family, and satisfaction came over her.

Grandma pulled into the driveway and honked. She put down the vase and grabbed a bottle. Little Dude's probably ready to eat.

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Topic-Michael Todd

Pic-Colleen Bruening

Pic guesses: Heart of the forest, Heart, Sky's the limit, Looking up, Evergreen, Tall pines