Once in awhile I go through my blog and read some of the things I have written, many times I am impressed, a few times I have wondered why I wrote what I did. I look back and compare this year to last and have seen growth albeit slow. Last April started out as normal springtime weather with frightening thunderstorms that quickly proceeded into a drought. Lawns either burned completely or were weakened enough that bugs invaded and finished the job. I did not plant flowers in the ground, I had a few container plants. No matter how much I watered, everything withered and died. This year , nearly 20 months away from Katrina, I planted many flowers in the beds and now we have a blast of cold air coming down on us. Global warming caused this, right? And the bitter cold weather this past winter? A suggestion was made that we water the flowers well so that they do not dry out. I did water to the front of the house but when I went to the faucet in the back where most of the flowers are, I couldn't turn the knob ... it was as though it was frozen. Unexpectedly, late last night, my daughter, Anita, arrived with a wrench in hand to turn the knob for me. She managed to to do just that but found that it had broken away from the rest of the mechanism. Today I am thinking of how to water the back beds. Okay! I did it! There is a wobbly spigot in the front side yard (no more than a pipe stuck in the ground) and I put a hose over the back fence. There wasn't enough pressure to use the sprinkler but a hand held nozzle did as well. They are all watered. That method used to work for bushes but I have never tried it on flowers. We shall see!

There are many things happening on the coast. People are still being bilked by contractors, people still live in Fema trailers, people are still waiting for grants and my daughter is still repairing her home. As for myself, nothing is really any different than it has been for the past 7 years especially in regards to trees. Before coming back to my hometown, I lived in the Lumberton/Poplarville area and the yard was filled with pines and huge water oaks. For a consecutive 3 years, I had trees removed. One had grown so huge that it's limbs were pushing the shingles off the roof. Another pretty one at the front entrance was struck by lightning. Within those 3 yrs., a tornado touched down and ripped the raingutters from the house. You would think with my experience with those things that I wouldn't have trees or keep raingutters clean , wouldn't you? I have said in my writings, name it and I can tell you a story.. I really can.

Still ... there is much to be grateful for. Easter is a perfect time to say thank you and I have!