Toga Party At Animal House (with prizes!)

Like many parts of the country Tidewater was very cold recently, but thankfully it seems to be over for now, and we were spared much of the weather others may have been enjoying (or not). The duration of the cold wore thin to Southerners who have come to expect somewhat regular interruptions of winter by sunny warmer days. In the interest of not spending money, we choose to keep our old drafty house barely warm, and certain accommodations have been made by all occupants. If you were to have stopped by for a visit on any given night in the past two and half weeks, you would have thought we were throwing a toga party. All of the humans (and occasionally the animals) in the house could be found wrapped up in blankets as we went about our evening routines; Cesar himself would have felt right at home.

Some of the Animal House residents look as if they may have passed out from draining a keg or drinking one too many Hairy Buffaloes. However, its the cold weather and not alcohol, that creates strange bedfellows and other unlikely pairings, and at least they won't wake up hungover full of regret.

Although not a real toga party, there is cause to celebrate. Today marks the second anniversary of A Tidewater Gardener. What started as a way to channel some frustrations brought about by a criminally insane neighbor, has now blossomed into a full blown, time consuming (but enjoyably so) obsession. As a result:

• I have gotten to know a little about and connected to many interesting people and have benefited from their experiences and knowledge.


• I have also gotten to view some wonderful photography, enabling me to improve my own.
  
• I have read some really creative writing. Obviously much of it on the surface has to do with gardening, but many of posts dig deeper, so to speak.


• Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect about this process has been the ability to travel vicariously to new landscapes, both natural and composed, so different from my own.

I want to thank each of you for any part you had in the above and for simply stopping by. It would be great if I could be sort of like a blogging Oprah and hand each of you a toga party favor just for being in the audience, but logistically and financially, I can't. However, if you would just say hi by leaving a comment on this post before the end of the month, I will put your names in a hat to win a set (6) of my wife's handmade cards (pictured below and botanically themed of course). On the 31st I'll have an impartial and thoroughly disinterested 12 year old draw a name, I'll announce it in a post and send the cards to the winner, no matter where they live.

Once again, thank you!