The Old Woman returns with an apple and advice

I was startled when the doorbell rang. I was not expecting anyone. My package of dwarf apple trees had already arrived earlier in the afternoon, so I was also not anticipating any more deliveries, especially on a Saturday.

I should not have been surprised to see the Old Woman at the door.  She has an uncanny knack for showing up just as I finish a project in the garden.

For this visit, she

The Old Woman at the Door Visits Again

I was working about in the garden on Sunday when out of the corner of my eye, I saw her walking toward me.

She was wearing her usual attire, this time it was jeans with a long-sleeved green t-shirt. Once again she reminded me of someone I should know, but I wasn't quite sure who. As she walked toward me, with a smile on her face, I greeted her like an old friend, wondering all the while what she

The Old Woman at the Door teaches me about balance

Sometimes, when I sit still in the garden for just a minute, the old woman at the door comes and pays me a visit.

Long-time readers, you remember the old woman at the door, don't you? She seems quite familiar to me, and when I look her in the eyes, I sometimes see my own reflection.

She keeps me on the straight and narrow and reminds me what gardening is all about. Sometimes, she reminds

The Old Woman at the Door Returns: Part 2

"Come and walk with me over here, but be quiet as you walk."

With that the old woman tiptoed quietly across the vegetable garden to a large snowball bush that had been growing for years on the southeast corner of the garden.  Pointing down at the base she rather excitedly exclaimed, "Did you see that rabbit go under there?"

I hadn't seen any rabbit but didn't want to admit it, so I offered a

The Old Woman at the Door Returns

I went out to the garden early one morning and was startled to find the old woman, whom I generally refer to as the "old woman at the door", sitting on the boulder in the vegetable garden.

She had on her usual attire. This time it was olive green cargo pants, a minty green t-shirt that didn't quite match, and her gardening hat, which bore a striking resemblance to mine, though hers was older

Achieving Happiness in Your Garden: The Sixteenth Secret

OSO EASY™ Cherry Pie Rosa 'Meiboulka' by the green chairs.

Now that it is June, the weather has done a complete reversal from last weekend's temperatures in the 90's to today's shivering temperature of 60F. 

I guess June got the memo from March, April, and May about how fun it is to be some other month than what you are.

Ha!  Fun indeed. These unseasonable months are mostly just confusing

The Old Woman at the Door Talks About Time

The old woman showed up in my garden, coming up behind me as I knelt on the ground pulling weeds. I was startled momentarily, not recognizing her at first. Then I realized she was the old woman at the door who had come to visit me in early April.

She looked a bit different than before, trading her green sweatshirt for a light green t-shirt and wearing loose green canvas pants that looked as

The Old Woman At The Door: Part 2

(See Part 1 before reading Part 2)

The old woman paused before speaking. During that brief pause, I looked past her sitting across from me at the table in the sun room and out to my own garden.

It was very early in spring and I could see off in the distance a few yellow daffodils blooming in small clumps scattered here and there. The first hints of green looked like fuzzy halos around some

The Old Woman At The Door: Part 1

I was somewhat startled when I heard the doorbell ring and was tempted to ignore it. I wasn’t expecting anyone, which meant it was probably someone who was going to invite me to their church or tell me about a candidate I simply had to vote for. Maybe it was a little kid selling candy or cookies? Why don’t they ever sell plants door to door?

In spite of my instinct to just ignore whoever was

Timing is Everything: A Reader Visits

Anemone blanda 'White Splendor'
Timing, they say, is everything. In life, in the garden, in taking pictures, and in sharing information.

When I found out earlier this week that some information I was given should be shared with others on the first Friday of April, I was concerned that no one would believe it.

Why?

The first Friday of April this year is April 1st.

Sigh.

It all started in

The Old Woman at the Door Makes an Observation

     The Old Woman at the Door showed up again this morning. She seemed familiar to me, dressed in blue jeans and a dark green sweatshirt. I let her in right away, as I always do. She has visited often enough over the past year that we didn't really need to spend much time hem-hawing around. She came right to the point of her visit.

"Carol," she said, "I think you spend too much time sitting