“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
~ Mother Teresa
With sweet mountain breezes and sunshine, one morning I pulled the push mower out, fueled it up and got ‘er going. Last month, I’d taken the thing apart in desperation: cleaned the spark plug connection, put in new gas and oil, and managed to put the various assortment of pieces I’d taken off back in the right place. (almost as bad as a Rubik’s cube!)
Believe it or not, the mower roared to life! Off we rolled to various garden areas: the Secret Garden, the Japanese Maple/Fish Pond garden, the Pooh Garden, the Chinese-Demon Garden (that one is the result of a white wisteria that became a demon unleashed, never to be contained again. A reminder that you have to keep some things restricted in a pot for its entire life, or else you pay the price of freeing it!) By the time the mower and I were finished, it was out of gas and so was I.
Heading inside for water, the itching started: I reached down to check ankles for ticks and other critters. No signs of any trespassers, but creepy-crawly sensations continued, long after a shower, on into the next day. Perhaps it’s just the notion of ticks, mites, and other unwelcome guests! I still haven’t found one.
It’s time for the Saluda Arts Festival on May 19 with 80 artists/craftspeople. Plan on staying a pleasant day in town: there’ll be art, good food, music and more from one end to the other; making this Saturday a most enjoyable day! Thank you to Polk County Community Foundation for sponsoring top-notch music. Thank you too, to the volunteers who work ceaselessly all year round on this festival.
The Saluda Tailgate Market is open Fridays at 4:30 p.m. at the city parking lot off Main Street. Offerings include fresh vegetables, meat, fruit, honey, baked items, plants and more. Tom DeKay offers farm-grown lamb and fresh caught trout. Now that’s local fare at its best!
Saluda School: A donation of $500 from Petal Pushers Garden Club will provide materials for enriching and educational gardening activities for students in pre-K – fifth grades. Students will work with volunteers from the NCSU Cooperative Extension Service and  teachers to create raised beds with herbs and vegetables grown for pizzas for families to share at a Family Fun Night next fall. Children will create and maintain red wiggler worm bins. How wonderful that our school children can learn gardening and end results of working with the earth! Seeing veggies that you grew yourself on a pizza can’t be beat. The next Family Fun Night at the school will be May 24.