Surprise!

Deb and Craig came up yesterday on a secret mission.  Excited, of course, to see them so soon again, I was still curious as to the why of their visit.  All was revealed when I finished with the goats.  Up at the house, they'd loaded my cart with two beautiful rose bushes, an early Mother's Day present, and also the tools for planting.

Tropicana is a sentimental favorite of mine.  I've had one in nearly every yard I've had.  The rose itself is beautiful, but it is the fruity perfume that appeals most.  When we moved here, one of the first plants I put in the ground was a Tropicana next to the front porch.  I didn't worry about the deer then as I was in blissful ignorance of their voracious appetites.  It wasn't until later and the deer were coming up on the deck and tromping around the corner of the house to munch on a potted rose under the bedroom window that my concerns were aroused.  They did, however, spare the Tropicana.  One day Steve was going to do something or other to the gutters and put up a ladder over the rose bush.  Thanks to the ground squirrels, the ground here is very unstable.  "Wait a minute, honey, and I'll hold the ladder for you."  "No, no, it's only going to take a second," and up he went.  When the ladder tipped over, he came down right in the middle of the Tropicana and squashed it flat.  He recovered from his injuries, the rose did not.  All this to explain why this gift is so special to me.

The second rose is called "Strike It Rich," a lovely golden yellow with a strong perfume.  My pair of worker bees planted this one in the pig garden to compliment the others they'd put in last week.  Nowhere close to my friend Tinka's garden yet (she's a master rosarian), thanks to Deb and Craig I'm closing the gap.

I should admit here that when I bought the replacement fitting for the hose in the pig garden, there was a choice of two sizes.  I picked the wrong one.  I will be going back to the hardware store today.

The roses are wonderful, but the best gift of all was the company of my dear ones.  Need I say it?  It was a good day.