By Bonnie J. Bardos 

“…Birds, insects, flying fish, swirling leaves, seeds of dandelions and sycamore trees, butterflies and fairies all dance around her in a grand array of wild free motion.”  ~ Josephine Wall, from a card that arrived in today’s mail.

 

Hauling garden cart, hoe and leaf mulch out to the front yard, I found myself happily weeding, planting and fluffing the garden strip I’d started last year. Everything had weathered through winter. Those who love to dig in earth and garden know that a gardener never gives up — that even when they’re long gone, the garden will bloom and grow for someone else to love, hopefully, and that passersby, birds, bees and other critters, will all enjoy it.

As I puttered back and forth from backyard compost and mulch to front yard mailbox and curb, garden cart parked on sidewalk, River started a sharp stream of yipping from his front porch perch. Eager to help, are you River? Yip, yip, yip —yeap!

So, I had to bring that silly rascal of mine closer to supervise the gardening work. I hitched his leash up to the Japanese maple at the goldfish pond and went back to work.  Folks honked, stopped and visited, smiled and waved — a reminder that life is sweet when you’re digging in the good earth once again with dirt on your face and under your nails, touching the world in your hands, planting something for others to enjoy as well as your own self.

Then the morning mail arrives. A thoughtful someone’s sent you a surprise early birthday card that captures your spirit, makes you smile and sit down on the front steps and admire it again and again. Cars hum by, sunshine sparkles on new leaves, white cherry petals drift, a bee works nearby in violets, and you gratefully feel a part of something much bigger, in a small town with a big heart.

Saluda Welcome Table is every Tuesday, with dinner served from 5:30-7 p.m. in the fellowship hall of Saluda United Methodist Church.  All welcome; donations accepted.

The Historic Saluda Committee and Oral History Committee meets April 10, 2-4 p.m. at Saluda Library. All are welcome to attend.

The first fundraiser (a low-country boil and music from the 42^nd Street Band) for the Saluda Depot will be held April 12 from 3-6 p.m. on the back deck of Thompson’s Store. Tickets are available at Ward’s/Thompson’s downtown Saluda. A tour of homes and silent auction will be on June 6 (mark those calendars!).

 

Saluda Women’s Club meets April 14, 10 a.m. at Saluda Presbyterian Church.

 

“Walks in the Woods” will continue through November on the first and third Sundays of the month. Meet at Saluda Library at 2 p.m. to carpool. Contact Chuck Hearon at 828-749-9886 or 828-817-0364 for information. Saluda Community Land Trust (SCLT) will benefit from your donations or time as a volunteer for their many community projects. Save the date of April 22 on “Earth Day” for SCLT’s annual meeting with speaker Carlton Burke and his rescued owls. For information, contact SCLT at 828-749-1560 or visit www.saludasclt.org

 

Happy April Birthday to: Martha Ashley, Melody Gibson, Dave Prudhomme, Kaye Vazquez, Cindy Keeter, Betty Anna Brown, Hope Pace, Diane Pace, Ruth Anderson, Greaton Sellers, Clay Arrington, Bonnie Bardos, Luther Connor, Gary Pace, Dee Owen, Doug Honeycutt and Niece Lundgren. Please add your birthday to the list—no ages mentioned unless you’re under two or over 100!

 

Saluda sympathy this week goes to the families of Martha Hardin, Pete Scott, Levi Randall, James Russell, Wayne Hembree and Rena Gordon.

 

Thank you dear readers, for reading this column. I love hearing from you! Whether you live here, or just wish you were here, the goal is to make you feel like you’re enjoying a front porch visit and small town life in a friendly little mountain town called Saluda. You can contact me at bbardos@gmail.com, call 749-1153, visit   bonniebardos.com for more writing and art, or find me on Facebook.

 

 

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