Daytripping Spring 2023

Lake Huron
MI
ONTARIO
NY
You’ll truly enjoy staying the night and taking more time to explore SW Ontario
Bring The Family To Mackie's
On the beach
in Port Stanley
Since 1911
Try our famous homemade french fi
fries,
our own special sauce & delicious Orangeade...
Open 7 Days A Week
www.peppertreespice.com
Over 112 YEARS the Same!
Mackie’s Parking Lot is (as it has always been) FREE for customers!
OPEN DAILY 11 to 7
THROUGH LABOUR DAY
Weekends Year Round
Memories
of Snapdragons
By Edith James, St. George
Indoor/Outdoor Seang
& Take Out Available
519-782-4390
Over 300 Spices
& Daily Arsan Blends
Gourmet Foods
Cookware • Chef’s Knives
Gi Baskets • Cooking Classes
Gluten Free & Vegan Opons
223A Colborne Street, PORT STANLEY • 519-782-7800
Sometimes the day to day of
gardening can blur together in a series
of highs and lows. After the initial
excitement of planning and planting
you set in for the repeat of watering
and weeding, while you wait for flowers
to bloom and seeds to grow.
My mom has always loved gardening
and she tells me a story from when
she was a little girl, and it is a story I
think about every year when we start
our garden. Her family didn’t have a
lot of money so, when she was given
a packet of snapdragon seeds, the
promise of those flowers in the corner
of their small backyard was an exciting
thing. Cupping the seeds carefully in
her hands, she walked to the garden
planning to plant the seeds just like
her dad had shown her, but she tripped
and the seeds scattered across the
ground. Understandably upset, she
resigned herself to the fact that the
seeds were lost to the grass and could
not be retrieved and placed where they
were supposed to go.
I never told my mom this but I think
I started to make garden pots annually,
bursting with snapdragons in memory
of that story. Well into October the
snapdragons fill the corners of our
deck and they greet people as they
walk past our front lawn. My gardening
journey began when I was very young
from watching my mom garden after
a long night shift as a nurse while my
sister and I played in the backyard.
I distinctly remember swinging on
the swing and watching her digging in
the black earth and wondering what
on earth she was doing and deciding
to investigate. I figured I liked digging
in my sandbox so whatever she
was doing must be equally fun.
I ran over to her and my
introduction to
gardening began.
In the beginning
my mom let
me do all the fun jobs, planting
of course! When I started
weeding, she was
patient with me
even when I
accidentally pulled out the flowers I’d
just planted. I didn’t always help her
as much as I should, most times I was
busy playing softball with my dad and
sister. Over the years, with any stray
pitch or throw, we managed to break
all of the garden gnomes, no matter
how well my mom hid them. Let’s just
say it was only after the softball days
were over that we began to truly invest
in garden decor.
I never realized how much work the
garden was and how much my mom
did to make it a magical place. But just
like the unexpected scattering of the
snapdragon seeds in her story, it hasn’t
always been a fun time. Storms have
uprooted trees and caused flooding,
and rabbits, chipmunks and bugs
have often decided to treat the garden
oasis as their own personal buffet. All
these things have caused frustration.
But gardening has a way of coming
through all the lows. Flowers recover, a
new tree is planted and as we see the
butterflies flitting from bloom to bloom
and the bees climbing into the jaws of
the snapdragons and back out again,
we always come to the realization it
was all worth it.
The ending to my mom’s first
foray into gardening ends like this:
weeks went by and to her delight, the
snapdragon seeds prevailed and grew
higher and higher amongst the grass.
Soon they bloomed in vibrant shades
of pink, yellow, red, and orange all
across her small backyard. It didn’t
matter that the seeds were not planted
perfectly, they just needed the chance
to grow.
When there is no rain or a
new flower is eaten, I
remember the story
of the snapdragon
seeds and I look
around and see all
the ways in which the
garden has succeeded.
It brings life and colour,
sustainable food, butterfly
friends and bees, and of
course, memories with
loved ones.
&
A short stroll
to Little Beach,
Restaurants,
Theatre
& Many Shops!
• Balconies
Overlooking
Lake Erie
• Waterside Patio
& Boardwalk
• King Beds
• Double Jacuzzi
• Fireplaces
Port Stanley
519-782-7623
7623
www.innontheharbour.net
h t
Spring 2023 Chuck Norris has to use a stunt double when he does crying scenes.
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