Easter Garden

Easter has dawned early for a few years. Excitement dominated the grey early light for the littles as they were anticipating the second coming of- Santa? The Easter Bunny is like mini-Santa. The Tooth-fairy is like a really lame Santa, but incites thrill just the same. As parents of young ones, we lead a whole other double life trying to give life to imaginary holiday hosts. Presumably to make it special? Maybe just to make us crazed. But, for the past few years, as the older ones get older, and more inclined to stay in bed until forced out by circumstance, or bronnoyance (that is brother annoyance), Easter starts in the dawn light because they are involved in the Youth Service at our little church.

Easter Sunday church must be accompanied by sweet dresses and brushed teeth, so we were up well before dawn this a.m. This is about a third of the youth in our church youth group, including Eldest:

(She's the blonde one)

And this is Middlest in her role as Usher for the day. (She's the blonde one)

They did a service that took the congregation through the week in Christ's life, starting with Palm Sunday, and ending with the Resurrection, as seen from the point of view of the stones in those stories. Indeed, the week rocked the world.
We then shot a family photo, and went to the church basement for a brunch- much like any brunch served in any church basement all over the middle of America today. (Southern church basements have different fare, and I don't think East Coast Churches have basement breakfasts. West Coast- do you have church basements?) In Midwestern church basements, they have yellow food. Eggs, and meat and potatoes and cream stuff. Here is the family, somewhat spiffed for Easter Morn:

Then, home before 9 a.m. to a rainy Easter Sunday.
Rainy. Continued rain. Someone at church said it has rained for seven weekends, and the weathery types are predicting at least 7 more weekends of rain. That will get us most of the way to July. April has seen almost triple the usual rainfall, and I'm trying to look at this as my opportunity to have an English garden. England is cool and wet in the spring. And the fall. And the winter. Even the summer is pretty cool and wet. So, I expect my gardens to transform into the lush abundance of the age of Jekyll. Except, I looked up the average rainfall for England in April, and it is only 2.4 inches. Since our average rainfall is 3 inches, my optimism seems misplaced. Still, I have a battle to join. Crabgrass and Creeping Charlie are formidable foes, and I have always chosen hand to hand combat there. But, it seems I lose garden ground every year. Resort to chemical warfare? Two days of weeding in the rain has gotten me ahead of the weeds in the Anniversary Garden. This is how it looks on Easter Day:

The yellow tulips in the center round have sadly been beaten up by the weather.But the muscari are the best they've ever been!  

While I've been stooping over in the Anniversary beds, Huz has been turning one of the Kitchen Garden quarters. Nice, black rich soil. Time to heave some heavy, wet compost into the mix!

Now, I've told the two youngers they can play on the Wii after they cut down a tree. So, I must go police what tree they choose....and perhaps find the blueberry bushes!