Thursday, April 1, 2010

Strawberry Surprise

Over the years my garden has provided me with innumerable surprises--from the pounds of rusted nails and broken glass that initially constituted my soil to the vegetables that actually grew and fed me.

I still see each flower as a surprise.

I've also found some more unusual "gifts" in my garden. During the summer of 2007 when it rained and rained here and my chard grew to beanstalk height, I found a bird egg resting in the stems. It never opened.

Then there was the time I unearthed a coin commemorating Eisenhower's second inauguration in 1956. I was so excited that I immediately ran into the house and looked online to see how much I could sell it for. I had visions of redoing the entire backyard, even the entire house.

I found a similar coin, in mint condition, for sale on Ebay. For $3.00.

And then are the gifts that are more canine in nature. No, no, no, not that. This: the infamous tomato/fish head debacle:
Then there's the mystery items that shouldn't have been a mystery at all. Last fall when I was prepping my vegetable garden, I dug up a large animal skull. I wondered if a squirrel had been using my bed as a burial ground but thought little of it until the next day,When I found another skull and then another. I got a little freaked out and tweeted about it asking for advice on these gruesome surprises.

About 10 minutes later I realized the skulls were the remains of the fish head debacle and sheepishly had to admit that on Twitter. What I didn't mention then because it was too early (even though Jenny of Rock Rose had already figured it out) was that I was pregnant and therefore had somewhat of an excuse for my brain lapse.

In addition to digging things up, the dog also likes to bury things in the yard, like this toy (can you find it in the picture at the top of the post?), which has probably been buried at various times in every inch of the yard.Here she is last night, plotting her next burial:This morning's garden surprise, however, is guaranteed to be the most unusual one. Look what I found when I went to check on my strawberries:Based on the stork bite on the back of his neck, I know how he arrived. I can only guess that the stork placed him in the strawberry patch because I don't have a cabbage patch.

As he's already showing a proclivity toward weeding, I think we'll keep him.

And in family naming tradition (the dog's name is Pear), we'll call him Strawberry.





As if I need to tell you, April Fool's. Believe it or not, the baby didn't arrive via the strawberry patch. He is, however, a wonderful surprise. And yes, I've done this before: 2008 and 2009.

15 comments:

  1. What a fun post and what an adorable baby boy he is. I'm sure he's going to love being in the garden with you and before you know it, he'll be looking for strawberries to pick and eat.

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  2. Vertie, I can't believe how "mature" Jack looks, not at all like a newborn. I'm so happy for you all! Hopefully, your dog will decide not to hide Jack in the garden somewhere for retrieval at a later date!

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  3. He sure is a cutie! And dressed all in green, like the gardener's child he is.

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  4. It's so hard to type while making cooing sounds, Vertie - what a little darling he is, and how at home he looks in the garden already!

    One of our sons also bore the mark of the stork - and in the weeks before his birth we'd made several trips to a pick-your-own strawberry patch, coming home with quarts & quarts. We left for the hospital a little late because I thought the labor pains were the well-deserved results of too many berries.

    Oh, those fishheads! Still a funny story!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  5. I love this post! Jack looks so comfy and that's a great Pear pic. Happy April!

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  6. Too sweet for words. I know he'll inherit or learn your attitude "I still see each flower as a surprise."

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  7. That's the cutest strawberry I ever did see!

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  8. You can tell he's an authentic strawberry by his lovely knit green cap. :)

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  9. I see you are getting him started early. What a big boy- i bet he's sleeping through the night already!

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  10. What wonderful little surprise in the garden (and not the fish skeletons)! Looks like you've already gotten a good little helper.

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  11. Oh what a cutie you found in the strawberries.;-) I am glad you have unearthed some fascinating things in your garden, dog toy aside.LOL! The only thing I find in mine is broken glass. They must have had trash barrels there at one time. ;-)

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  12. What a Sweet Pea! He is certainly one welcome garden visitor :)
    Congrats and Happy Easter!

    Heather in Montreal

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  13. What a handsome little garden helper you have. And what a fun way to chronicle your boy's beginnings. It won't be long before he's planting fruit trees and blogging about them....

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  14. Congrats on your newest addition Vertie- I love seeing the pics you post on Twitter. I think I miss all the little sounds my daughter used to make as a baby the most (not the crying part though!). My daughter has been gardening with me since she was born- it's SO much fun to have a little garden buddy :)

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