In the midst of my year (hopefully) in between undergraduate and professional school, I've really gotten in touch with methods of relaxation. For me, it's good company (almost always including a mixture of species), good food, good music, exercise, and, last but not least, getting in touch with nature a little. Loving my job and my "roommates" (otherwise known as Mom and Dad) doesn't hurt either... Anyway, nature is the main theme here. And so it goes.
My mom is an avid gardener. I've taken her skills for granted most of my life, as most young people do most things, but lately I've really started understanding the importance of getting your hands in the dirt. Granted, I still haven't done a lot of it myself, but I am getting anxious to get started in a spot of my own. So last Saturday, when Mom asked me to go with her to the nursery to get some apple trees, I didn't hesitate.
Hand's Nursery in Magee, MS was one of the first magical experiences of my childhood memory. These particular images don't even begin to encompass it, mind you. I remember being 4 foot nothing, tagging along with Mom in this botanical wonderland. And the way she navigates the space; seeing what the sad-looking shrubs, flowers, ground cover, trees could become with the proper care and planning. And we're not talking what they could become in a few days or weeks. No, we're talking many months, even many years. I only hope I can one day understand that type of devotion. Anyway, I digress...
So, in the way of apple trees, we ended up getting a Fuji and an Anna. Not to mention a ton of $1 and give-away stuff stacked up by the nursery worker (on a first name basis with my mother, of course) that they together envisioned into different nooks and crannies... And, last but not least, I purchased two of my very own sweet olive trees! If you don't know about this particular plant, you must never have been downwind of one on a particularly beautiful, and breezy, spring day. But, oh, I have, and the smell is something to die for! Not particularly beautiful, but I find that the olfactory sense is greatly important, to me at least, trumping beauty from time to time. So, I decided planting these trees would be my first task in the way of gardening on the hill that I hope to one day build my home. The hill where my late Uncle Lew used to live, and, most recently, where my Godfather Tom has grown his delicious greens. This hill, in fact:
Old Hickory Hill. Such a beautiful spot. And here are my 2 sweet olives, now even more neatly nestled in after a week of rain:
Ok, so it's a mother's love, but it is love none-the-less. I'm excited to continue my gardening endeavors on this hill throughout the years, filling it with fruit trees and bushes and other strategically placed botanical wonders. I can only strive to be a fraction of the gardener my mother is, so that's what I'll do.
So. There are the trees. Wanna see the dog?
Again, with the mother's love... But damn, she's a goody.
All these photos, and I still haven't given my Holga report! Well, I've gotten two rolls developed, a color and a black/white, and things went fairly well for the first run. I've only got the color files on my computer, so I'll wait til I've scanned the black and white before I run through them. But my, I am having fun playing with my plastic lens...
Also, in the way of crafts, I've recently found two particularly adorable and amazing artists, via Mr. X Stitch (See favorites), on Etsy:
Picky Duck Hand Embroidery by WhatParty - This one is just hilarious. And adorable. Too bad she JUST sold it...
Say it loud Machine (by hand?) embroidery by holidaytart - Ahhh, I may actually buy this if it doesn't sale soon... More fine art, I suppose, but wow, I never thought of embroidery + watercolor! Love it.
That's enough for now. Next time: Holga-land, maybe? We shall see...
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