Ann's Weblog

Mom is pictured on the right, with her sisters. Photo taken 1957, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. 

When I picked up the mail this week, I was surprised to find a small packet from my aunt in Sarnia. As I opened it, I saw that there were two very old photos from a visit that she and my uncle made to our farm in 1982 (not relevant to the rest of this story), and a short note.

My aunt explained that she was cleaning out some drawers. Beside the photos, she had come across a letter that my mother had typed to her in 1957, and Aunt C. included this! Mom died in 1969, and I think of her daily, remember her very well, and miss her terribly.

In this letter written by Mom, she mentions that my older sister has just started school and is finding it tiring. She refers to a puppy who has been good company for "Ann" (that's me), making me "less inclined to wander when Peggy is in the yard". It tugs on the heart to think that that puppy died from distemper when she was only a few months old; I don't think that pets even were given vaccinations in those days. 

It is amazing to read references to aunts who were pregnant... and now those cousins are close to fifty! Mom writes with great affection about other relatives and friends, and was looking forward to visits in the coming months. 

Even more poignant, Mom speaks of having been diagnosed with disseminated Lupus Erythematosis and explains a bit about what that is. This is the disease which ultimately took her life... that and side effects of the steroid regime that is used to control symptoms and (in an attempt to) drive Lupus into remission.

I don't think I have the mental energy to write any more about this. That was an explanation of the whole letter right there... it wasn't, when written, intended to be an enduring legacy, but that's what it became, to me. I cried for awhile after reading Mom's words; I will photocopy it and send it to my sister. It's just a reminder of a gentle, loving person who had a life too short, but who lived it as well as anyone could, and brought much joy to others. 

 ~Ann

This is my "wannabe" nursery. I'm composing my fifth order of trees and shrubs from a wholesale nursery, and then I'm sure it's time to stop bringing in very much of anything.

Although the main frenzy to get things planted is over for most people, the "news" that I have more than herbaceous perennials is getting around. Folks still trickle out to our place or phone to see what we've got. I still have all the Farmer's Markets to haul nursery stock and perennials to (two markets per week), and that has always been worth doing.

I'm learning about the actual plants as I go along, and also am getting a feel for what gardeners are really wanting. Will I stick with this? Time will tell; for now, it's a bit intoxicating. The new work also fits very well with the pet business; how nice it is to have all my work "at home".

~Ann 

I have a friend who is fighting for her life, against cancer. She phoned a few nights ago, trying to sound brave and doing a pretty good job; she asked if I could go to pick up her cat from her house, and find "Kelly" a good home. She was phoning from the hospital.

When I asked if it would be okay for me to keep Kelly as my own, this friend sounded very pleased. I'm not going to write more about my friend's circumstances, but of course one day, if she's able, she can have her cat back. In the meantime, Kelly seems absolutely at home, was very quickly accustomed to our Lady dog, and behaves with just the "right" mixture of affection and independence.

In our part of the country there are too many feral or stray cats, and occasionally people phone and ask if I know how to "get rid of a bunch". I can't help with that nor counsel those folks very much, but I often remind them that it's easier to deal with stray cats when there are one or TWO extra, before there are THIRTY.  I find it easy to get very attached to cats... our "Gilbert" cat was given to us while pregnant and we had her spayed. "Kelly" is a real bonus cat... pretty and polite, and already spayed.

Thanks for reading, my friends.

~Ann

Okay, it's MOSTLY all good! I've been having a lot of fun with the "perennials and nursery stock" business. In order to sell trees and shrubs, I jumped in with both feet! It's such a small operation, but then I'm drawing on a community of just a few hundred people!

Just before my annual "perennial" sale, I had a chat with a gardening friend who I admire for her knowledge of all things botannical, her hard work, and her skill in landscaping her own yard and other properties in our town. In conversation, I mentioned that I had a copy of the same nursery catalogue as SHE had been using, and I asked if she thought she'd EVER run out of room to plant.

It was only then that I realized that my friend was the buyer for HER friends who had opened a "farm supply" store in town, and was ordering nursery stock for them to sell. She explained that she did not know that I was going to carry those kinds of things, and that she had limited her selection of regular perennial plants because of my business. How sweet is that? So now we discovered that we're both going to carry trees and shrubs, and I replied, "Well that'll be fine; people will just keep going 'round and 'round to the places that sell all kinds of plants, and hopefully we'll keep most of them from buying what they need at the big box stores in Prince George!".

Hardly anyone in town has caught on to the fact that I HAVE nursery stock here, but I just got my "main" shipment yesterday, DAYS after my annual sale. I did receive product on the bus on the day of my sale, but mostly it is dormant stock out of cold storage, and bundles of trees that are "whips". Quite a few bushes and small trees did sell last weekend... but you should SEE the selection that I received yesterday!! Okay, I'll go take a picture if it's not raining by the time I type this blog entry.

I'm so inspired! There are tall apple trees with FRUIT on already, everything in full leaf and some trees with spring bloom. There are lovely little junipers and bigger spreading ones too. I wouldn't care if I got "stuck with" any or all of it!

Having said that, I do hope I get my investment back. The other consideration is that I already cannot keep up with my "display" gardens; even flower beds that are relatively "new" are full of weeds and stupid grass. In many places, I have to actually dig out huge chunks of soddy soil and remove the precious plant from the middle of THAT. It has been hard digging and pulling, and yesterday I was exhausted by 10 a.m.. My hands ache and the joints are swollen and I'm kept awake sometimes at night by joint pain all over. Yesterday I actually just sat down on the ground and cried, but I think that helped. It's all about choices, and I'm just determined to carry on.

So, the flower beds are not so much display gardens, but just the flower beds of a human being (who is 51 years old) and I'll just keep at it. One of my friends, in about the same situation in her yard, says, "I just decided to tackle it one bed at a time, sticking with it until it's all done." She means that she's going to clean up thoroughly, and not do just a little weed pulling or hoeing enough to make the beds LOOK tidier. I think, for both of us, the problem is that by the time we get around to ALL the different cultivated areas, it will be high time to start back at the beginning.

Sigh. C'est la vie.

I'll go see if I can take a picture of the nursery stock in pots (at this point, they're no trouble at all!)

Thanks, everyone. ~Ann