O Solo Mio !

By Dea O'Hopp (Dea)
August 17, 2007

I am dwelling on the mountain, Where the golden sunlight gleams O’er a land whose wondrous beauty Far exceeds my fondest dreams;

I am dwelling on the mountain,
Where the golden sunlight gleams
O’er a land whose wondrous beauty
Far exceeds my fondest dreams;
Where the air is pure, ethereal,
Laden with the breath of flow’rs,
They are blooming by the fountain,
’Neath the amaranthine bow’rs.

Do you sing while you garden or just hum-sing in your head? I do! The above is an old, old tune from the late 1800’s written by William Hunter.

We live on a high hill, not quite a mountain for sure, but a hill for sure. We live way beyond any city limits so the air is still quite good! Gardening is not always easy, there’s physical labor involved don’t you know!

But the results of the work! Sometimes I must just sit in the warm grass or dirt and sing to myself. The smells of the garden with the wafting breezes of roses and herbs and the tiny fountain that invites the butterflies and birds is just too much not to take a break.

It’s not just a matter of dirty hands and broken fingernails, it’s the intensity of our work as gardeners that takes our breath away at times. We actually get to see, smell, feel, eat - if we raise food crop, that just blows us away.

I can block everything else out and be in a completely different place after a rotten day at the office; now I’m in the garden. I can tend to things that only want my attention and don’t talk back except by letting me know they need food or nutrients or perhaps a stake or some pruning or water.

In turn, the garden will give back to me food, wondrous smells, works of nature that up close are so inspiring that they cause me to be completely stunned.

Whether it’s containers or acres or raised beds or rows to be hoe’d, these are the gardens we tend. They bring all of us much joy and so much knowledge that we share with each other here.

I know I’ll never be able to contend with the song of the whippoorwill, nor the tree swallows shrill cry over their brood, nor the buzzing of the bees, but sing or hum-sing I shall. Gardeners are a special group of people. Thanks for reading and no, I won’t be doing an audio – let’s leave that for the birds!

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Subject Topic Starter Replies Views Last Post RE: Dea O'Hopp jonyaplsed 0 14 Aug 23, 2007 1:05 AM Beautiful! KyWoods 30 189 Aug 21, 2007 7:09 PM

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