I'll Do Almost Anything For A Pink Rose

For the past three days, I've been working in my garden. 

These were no poetic trimming sessions or random bits of weed-pulling. I'm talking about blister-making, thorn-scratching, back-aching work. 

For example, I used a hand saw to prune back at least a dozen enthusiastically overgrown bushes,generating massive piles of debris, like this one. 

Ranger likes to guard my piles. Often, he lifts his leg to them, just do everyone knows who's boss. 

I also spent some quality time with this handsome green fellow. 

Yeah. My wheelbarrow. He and I go way back, and have had a lot of good times and wild garden adventurers together. This weekend, I used him to haul new plants and full loads of composted soil here and there, as I was filling in a few blank spots in various beds. 

Of course, I worked up a powerful thirst. This weekend's be enrage of choice was sparkling water with a splash of orange juice in my favorite jar-turned-drinking-glass. Delicious, refreshing, and awfully cute. 

Amidst the crazy energy of a work session in the garden, I reminded myself to stop at least once of twice to savor the  goodness that lives out there. 

Luscious red strawberries, clouds of dainty pink blooms at my feet, and extravagant roses. 

These are the incredible God-given gifts of my garden, and they make all the hard work worthwhile.