Mother's Day

Perhaps my favorite thing in life is enjoying my garden. If anyone asked me what single feature I most enjoy from my garden, most would say my response would be my pond. Yes, I adore my pond and my fish (Lucky, Jaws & Co). I enjoy sitting in the hot tub and hearing the trickle of the waterfall that Dave and I built (not once but twice). The pond is its own ecosystem, it cycles and the fish hibernate, breed, eat, thrive, then magically begin to hibernate again in the winter. In fact, fish are the easiest pets to keep. You don't have to feed them for three months of the year!

I have to admit I love the life of my pond, but my single, most favorite feature in my back yard is my Dwarf Meyer Lemon Tree. We planted it Mother's Day 2002. Katie purchased it with her own money from Lydia and Oscar Riveria, brought it home and we all planted it. I'm sure we were a sight out in the back yard planting that little, scrawny stick of a thing. It had a couple of blossoms on it, but Oscar insisted that Katie take some food for it and said "Tell your Mom to feed it!". I did feed it for the first two years. Like my children and my fish this little tree has flourished and grown strong. It's survived frost, cold winters, high winds, several floods and more than one global warming heatwave. Yet, each year it produces more and more fragrant blossoms and of course the fruit is magnificent!

I cherish my Meyer Lemons. It's a bit like having fresh tomatoes, once you've had a fresh Meyer Lemon you can't bring yourself to use another kind of lemon. They are about $6.00/lb retail. The wellness of the tree only reflects the memory of planting it long ago--Maddie was in Kindergarten, Dave's butt-crack was showing out of his favorite grey shorts and Matt was "helping" (kind of the way Bruno helps me plant annuals!). Each time I look at that tree I see us as a family (before significant others, fiancees, before my "bad patch"). Right now my tree is full of blossoms and each time you walk in the back yard, the fragrance makes you stop and inhale until you are light headed.

So, dearest family, here is my wish for Mother's Day 2009. Lucinda Sue is giving (yes at no cost...) a fountain for the front yard. It will stand in between the two Japanese Maples in the front patch of the walkway. It is beautiful and very heavy. The only thing I want for Mother's Day is to have this fountain moved and placed in the yard. I you feel you must spend money, gift certificates to a local nursery would be great--but not necessary. I need help with two strong guys to lift the concrete fountain from Lucinda's back yard, transport it to Casa Heizer, unload it to a spot (and have my bird bath moved). I may need a bit of soil, but with the help of some manpower and ingenuity I'm certain that the 4 of you can get this thing moved and working (with little help from your poor father who is sick and tired of doing shit around the house!).

Just think, I will be able to lay in my bed in the summertime and hear the sound of water through my front window. When I get up on the middle of the night, the soothing sound will lull me back to sleep with happy memories of my children making such a wonderful thing happen (and I won't have to hear you're Dad bitch!).

I know, I don't want much!

5/21/2009

Update: My fountain is up and running (well, when Dave doesn't unplug it to save on the electric bill!!).