I lost count of how many different gardens I created. I was outside everyday, hauling rocks, digging the big pond, creating pathways, moving moss (I am weird - I love moss), planting fairy tale Ivy to trail over my newly built stone walls. I loved my Faerieland. I built a small home business building trellises, arbors etc. and named it "Faerieland Creations". When I wasn't beautifying my own landscape, I was busy building something lovely for someone else's garden.
Sissy tagged along with me, sweetly keeping me company. Her brother, 7 years older, was attending school daily while Sissy was content to stay home and play in the dirt with her mama.
Together (with help from two happy Labs and our many felines) we dug the 5 ft. deep pond and added a waterfall. We planted and sank pots of lily pads and added many koi fish. Sissy loved feeding the fish cat food and the dogs loved to wade in the pond after the cat food. We built stone steps and pathways up to the upper garden. The land was in 3 different "layers" and we did our best t connect them all together. We planted an herb garden with a winding path through each raised and different shaped herb bed. More steps and a pathway appeared and led visitors to a lower garden beneath the giant bird boulder. One weekend Bill, the kids and I all worked together and constructed a brick patio perched on the edge of the hill. A hop covered Arbor kept us out of the sun and rain. A bubbling "bird pond" nestled next to it gave us "garden music" while we sat watching sunsets on our new sitting area.
Many evenings Bill and I sat on the patio, sipping micro-brews (our favorite beverage) and gazed down the valley. We held hands as the sun would set and frequently commented that THIS was the bliss we wanted our whole lives. Bill liked to pick rose buds and tuck them behind my ear. We'd sit out there until the light faded and sometimes stayed longer with lighted,twinkling candles in jars around us. We'd leave our special place only to plan to come back in the morning and have coffee together. Booboo had built us a bird house that hung above the patio. The wren couple that moved in greeted us every sunrise. Bill and I named them Peter and Lois(from Family Guy of course) and spent many a coffee hour enjoying watching them flit in and out of their own little blissful home.
On weekends we would hike with the children (and dogs and sometimes cats) to the top of the hill that continued behind the house. We loved to pick the wildflowers in the spring and crawl along the moss covered out cropping of huge boulders. We all could feel the magic of our mossy hill and never wanted to come down off of it. We loved to look down on our house, pond, gardens and see how it was ever changing with each year.
The children grew, the dogs got old and then there were new dogs, and always a new litter of kittens. The place continued to change and grow as did the love among us. Maud and Hank, living a short walk away, spent many an hour with us. They had finally accepted me into the family, adored the children, and treated me like a daughter...how I always hoped they would.
Booboo grew into an intelligent, lovely young man. He graduated from High School and left us for college. Maud still worked at the High School during Boo's years there. Periodically, I would sub in the office for her on her sick days. I loved working in the school. I adored the kids, staff, parents and principal. Because Maud was so negative in her position, everyone seemed to breathe sighs of release on my work days. Before I knew it, Maud was asked to "use her book keeping talents" and become a full time ASB Book Keeper...in her own private office....away from the students and public. The district asked that I please take over the High School Secretary position. I jumped at the chance. THIS was the job I was meant to have. I had a lot of love to give and wanted to spread it at Oakville High School. Even Maud, in her well practiced martyrdom voice said "I never thought anyone could take my place, but you have and very well...*sigh*" I loved the school's schedule and spent my summers back out in the garden with Bill and Sissy and Boo when he came home to visit.
Each day Sissy grew more beautiful inside and out. She realized her love for dance and joined the Middle School Drill Team. We were amazed at how quickly she excelled with this talent. We weren't surprised when she tried out her freshman year for varsity cheerleader - and made it. She was popular with her friends, kind to all, bubbly, energetic, witty, happy and pretty much a dream to any parent. In the spring she joined Bill's softball team and loved being coached by her father. The local sports photographer snapped a shot of Bill and Sissy, matching uniforms, with their arms around each other that was so adorable he printed it in our local small town paper.
Little did we know, in less than a year....Bill's face and the horrifying charges against him would make the front page of our small town paper.
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