Romancing The Eras

How Do You Escape?  by Lane McFarland

Summer in the North Georgia Mountains has arrived in full force as temperatures creep above 90 degrees. My outside haven awaits, ready for my fingers to dig into the lush red clay.

Stooped over, sweat trickling down my face, I diligently pluck the ever present ungainly weeds crowding my vegetable and flower gardens. If only my little plants would grow so well!

Surrounded by white Candytuft and Blue Star Creeper, Black & Blue Salvia’s tentacles thrust tubular iridescent blue flowers into the warm breeze. Ruby Spider mixed with golden yellow lilies and fuchsia-colored Phlox bloom abundantly nestled between deep purple Butterfly Bushes.

Strawberries hang in abundance, the red fruit sweetening in the warm sunshine while little green tomatoes sprout on vines weaving through support cages.

Not only are my flowers budding, but wildlife is fully awake. Delicate Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Indigo Buntings, and Eastern Bluebirds are among my frequent garden visitors. Woodpeckers, Northern Cardinals and Yellow Finches fill my bird feeder stations.

That was until a much larger visitor stopped by...

Finding a free meal was well worth the trip up the mountainside for this black bear. He gave thanks for his good fortune; however my feeders will never be the same.

Along with living vicariously through my books’ beloved characters in days gone by, cultivating tender plants provides a much needed escape from the pressures of my job and life in general.

How do you escape the pressures of everyday life? Do you have a special place to retreat, regroup and recharge?