In defense of a messy garden...

Some gardeners clean up their gardens every fall, making them all nice and tidy.  Me...I leave everything in my garden until spring even though it looks, to some, like a hot mess.  You see, I know that the birds will find lots of good seeds to eat, scattering some in the process to make my garden that much nicer next year.  And countless arthropods spend the winter in hollow stems, leaf litter and dead vegetation. I like to think of my pollinator gardens as more "wildlife gardens" since they support many life cycles.  

Today, as we sat in the RV chatting to my parents, I had my camera lens pointed out the wide window, facing the garden.  And was delighted to see American Goldinfches (including this juvenile) busily eating seeds from the bee balm, echinacea and (seen here) anise hysssop.  

My hubs, with some suggestions from Dad, got the slide out on the RV fixed to the point where we can travel as planned tomorrow.  So, now I'm starting to pull together the things we'll need for our two days away.  I'll take my remaining caterpillars over to my friend Barbara tomorrow morning so she can look after them, as well as release any butterflies that emerge while we're gone.  Other than that - food, wine, clean underwear, camera, computers and we're good to go.  Will probably try to blip before we leave in the morning.

I am feeling more myself today, thankfully.  It's always a relief to come out of a slump, knowing that it was just that - a slump - and not something darker and more scary.  Thank you for all the kind words this week.  

xo
Debbi