Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Tuesday, June 17, 2025 -- Mattie died 799 weeks ago today. 

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2007. Mattie was five years old and that day he was very excited because the tent moth caterpillar that he brought home from his school's playground had spun itself into a cocoon. Mattie knew that within ten days or so, would emerge a moth from the spun silk. Mattie loved this metamorphosis process every spring! I literally had jars set aside for this process and we learned by process of elimination that the only leaves these caterpillars ate were OAK! Which is why we both came to love oak trees. 

Quote of the day: Betrayal is difficult to process. It is difficult to understand, even on the most basic level. ~ Jon Bush

Given how I am feeling, my goal over the next couple of days is to spend less time at the computer. My neck and shoulders feel achy and strained. So despite the heat and humidity, I went outside this morning and worked out there for several hours. Believe it or not, I trimmed back all the roses you see here. The roses had gotten as tall as the bird bath/fountain. Now that they had their first bloom, it was time for them to be cut way back. I maintain everything in this space, including trimming the crape myrtle tree in the fall (in order to keep its nice small and bushy foot print in the spring and summer) and eventually I will get to that big white hydrangea bush, as it too needs to be cut in half!

Since there are so many hydrangeas, that I brought some inside, and will continue to add to this vase in our front hallway. The beauty of this house is I really never have to purchase flowers in the warm weather months! Something is always blooming in the garden. 

In April, I planted four large roses in our terracotta pots. I did this to replace all the roses my husband planted for me, but died from all the snow we received this winter. I feed these roses religiously every two weeks and they are thriving. 

Aren't they a glorious color?

This to me is the Mattie Miracle rose.... orange and red. I bought this specifically as a tribute to Mattie. 

The property has hydrangeas of every shape and variety. Climbing ones as well. My favorites are the oak leave hydrangeas that border the property. They are an amazing privacy screen from neighbors. 

The day lilies are in bloom!

Do you see the fountain. This is one of my favorite features in the backyard. It attracts birds. They love bathing in it, and I also love the sound. The fountain stopped working one day, and I am very grateful to Steve (my outdoor guru) for cleaning all the muck out and installing a new pump. He even got the back light working. 

Meanwhile it is frog season. All you hear day and night are frog songs. When I first moved into the house, the previous owner had frog statues and yard stakes of cute frogs. I removed them all, but always wondered.... what was with the frogs???? NOW I get it! The frogs own the backyard. If Mattie were here, he would have absolutely had a field day in the backyard. I just wish Mattie experienced Sunny in this backyard. Life would be so different if my family were intact. I truly need to keep moving in order to maintain any sort of stability.