Thanks to all of you who are taking my fairy doors out into the world, opening magical portals for all things beauty-full and amazing! As the fairy doors are moving rather fast, it’s impossible for me to list them all right here. However, some of the larger portals are under transformation and I’m hoping to post them soon. I hope you have a chance to visit WoolWorth Walk in Asheville to see the fairy door display and maybe take one home to your garden! I couldn’t do this work without you, thanks so much!

This year the front of the studio really filled out with all the amazing plants that nature provides for us! The reddish bush to the right is Scotch Broom, a welcome addition. The two Rhododendrons are in their third year and literally went ka-pow this spring!

A friend recently asked me if I go out there every day to check on what grew and opened. YOU BETCHA! Besides needing quite a bit of attention, this garden pops out with surprises large and small every single day, couldn’t possibly miss it!

It’s all just a dream, a really beauty-full one!

Ricki is working feverishly to complete the pond connector… a little creek like trench that combines the water flow from our two little ponds. This is creating bird heaven: The shallow water flow attracts feathered friends of all kinds and sizes, sometimes the whole family! It’s the best show in town and we have front row seats… right here on our porch. I have not been able to capture images of the bathing beauties, the porch screen is a real challenge for the digital camera and it’s only a few feet away

We watch in awe how the birds relax, splash, bathe and drink. Momma birds are bringing their brood, showing them how to feed, helping them find their way. Sometimes there are a dozen birds literally fighting for their turn in the waters. Dragon flies are now starting to appear as well, was wondering about those beauties.

A new addition to the garden, this Scotch Broom bush is covered with red/yellow/pink blossoms, spilling over the rock wall in the front. I found out that Scotch Broom is actually extremely invasive, some states have issued warnings, literally. This applies mostly to the common yellow variety, I have my hopes up that this one, bought from a nursery, is a manageable hybrid. With this in mind, I am cutting off the tops after the bloom to keep the seedpods from forming…

This is where I get to go to work every day. Is it real? Is it a dream?!

Looking at the Alliums close up… almost like fireworks going off!

We stopped at the house, the car pulled along side to the left, window half way down. The driver, a young African American man, leaned over to share some threatening words, ending with something like “do you want me to blow your mf’ing head off?” at which time the passenger rolled the window down even further. Having remained calm, Ricki’s main gesture was to block me from their vision, almost leaning out of his window. His answer: “well, then I’m dead and you’re going to jail.” The tension and silence stretched the next moment into an indefinable time period. The two young men decided it obviously wasn’t worth it and took off, probably high-fiving each other on scaring the living crap out of us.

What surprised me most in this experience was my own reaction, or lack thereof. My awareness encompassed the following: This is not how I had expected to go, but I accepted. The love for my husband was overwhelming and I hoped for a fast conclusion. Tremendous gratitude for being together in this. I was surprised to feel compassion for the boys. I have received and lived so much already, nothing feels incomplete and I’m happy with my share. Now, these thoughts didn’t exactly come this linear and spelled out (OK, except for the “let it be quick if it’s happening now”), but rather flooded me as a knowingness. It’s actually not much different than how we live our daily lives: In awe of the daily gifts, together, grateful, ready for what life presents.

I value this experience as an enormous gift. And one those is definitely enough for now.