Mariner spent most of the day in the garden. For the most part, he was pulling weeds to see if he still had garden plants under the weeds. He seldom meanders among the gardens because more pressing tasks are calling but today he poked about, swearing at rabbit damage and on a positive note, discovering plants that had survived despite all the interference of weeds, rabbits and droughts – even some, like Hyssop and Spider wort, had emerged on their own.

He keeps a stand of Milkweed in support of any passing Monarch butterfly but has never seen any. Until today. A Monarch was bounding about in the Milkweed, seemingly quite happy. Small gifts bring great reward.

While hunting wild crabgrass in the Azalea bed, he met up with a chipmunk. He’s always considered the chipmunk a mouse that is in show business; they have pleasant shades of brown with prominent stripes running down their back. We stared at one another for a long moment then the chipmunk went about its business.

This kind of puttering in the garden beds, for mariner at least, is one of the top enjoyments that can be had from gardening. The gardens have their own relationship with nature, stay busy with their own lives whether ants, birds, flowers or even weeds. They are the grand biosphere for shrews, caterpillars, moths, toads, moles and snails. A summer’s night can be blessed with dancing lightning bugs.

Plants, from algae to giant oaks to moss, have been around for billions of years before Homo came along. They know something Homos don’t know.

Ancient Mariner