Easter was non eventful at Menagerie Manor, Mema baked a spiral Ham and all the dishes that go with it just in case one of the kids stopped by looking for a meal. As it turned out we had a lovely meal to ourselves so there are lots of leftovers and I can just smell the homemade Split Pea Soup with that big ham bone.
I did a walk through the garden this morning and found these pretty violets in bloom. I transplanted them 36 years ago from the Lelain Gardeniers estate in Clatskanie, the small town that Mema grew up in. By the time I was on the scene the house was a burnt out shell and the gardens overgrown but any gardener could still see the beauty that once was. Lelain would still stop by to pick a handful of flowers to take to her daughter whom she was living with, a small pixie of a women her cheeks bright with rouge and boundless energy for being in her eighties. Mr Gardenier was lost in the fire. He had been taking a nap in the upstairs bedroom when the fire broke out and quickly spread throughout the old house Mema and her parents yelled for him to get out, he came to the window but being a true old gentlemen proceeded to get dressed first as it would not be proper to be seen in ones undergarments, he died from smoke inhalation. Lelain on one of her visits to the house gave me permission to take any plants that I wanted as she was putting the house and land up for sale. The house was still filled with the most beautiful antiques, lots of crystal that was left undamaged by the fire, in fact at our wedding she gave us a lead crystal basket that Mema cherishes these many years later. It's good to have memories in the garden......
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