Spring Comes to the Tudek Community Gardens

My husband wanted to go into town to pick up a few things at Giant to earn extra gas points, with the price of gas being what it is. I didn't want to go along because I figured it would be busy and hot in town, with it being blue and white game weekend and all, and temps in the 80s expected. But he lured me along by offering to drop me off for a walk someplace different. With visions of Tudek Park dancing in my head, off we went.

So it was that I ended up with about 35 minutes to spend on my own while he shopped, and I saw as much of the park as I could. The place was pretty packed, with families, kids, groups, and individuals doing all kinds of things. It was just one of those first pure summer-feeling days, and everyone and everything was hopping.

I came across the three horses grazing and napping in a pasture across the path from the butterfly garden, where not a lot is happening yet. But there is lots MORE going on in the community gardens, which you may see in the picture above.

The Tudek Park community gardens offer little plots of green that you can rent by the year. The price for a single plot (300 square feet) is $35. The price for a double plot (600 square feet) is $70. That's a bargain, for sure!

I saw just one person working in the gardens while I was there, but many plots showed evidence of recent care. Last year's detritus has been removed from many. In a few, the soil is tilled. As a backdrop to the gardens, there stands one of the most beautiful white oaks I know. (Yes, I went over and touched hands to the tree, said sweet words: Hello, dear, old friend!) Plus a cool old barn.

A charming rattan bench graces one of the plots, and I dream of sitting on it, late at night, watching the diamond stars sparkle against a soft, dark velvet sky. The stars are never out of our reach, I think to myself, happily, when I see that bench for dreaming.

There were people picnicking. A pale woman with red hair sprayed herself liberally with sunblock, her hair blowing in the breeze. I thought to myself, sadly, She'll burn to pink, for sure, on this sunny day. Please use more sunblock, ma'am!

Two young ladies had a picnic in the grass. A guy was doing some kind of martial arts activity in the middle of the field. A coed played with her long hair, adjusted her shorts, took a selfie on the pathway. Yes, as I said, things were hopping.

As I approached the main paddock by the big old barn, I saw a young family taking photos on the fence. A woman holding a baby. A man, devoted to his children. Two little girls mugging for the camera. It was charming. *I* almost wanted their picture. But I did not take one.

I approached them, but not too close. "The three horses are in a field over there today," I said, with a gesture in that direction, and gave them a big smile. They were so gracious and so appreciative. "Thank you! That's what we wanted to know!" They tossed many happy words my way, and I ducked and left, embarrassed; but suddenly quite pleased, myself, in the way that you are when you make a stranger (or a whole group of them) happy without much effort at all!

And then I saw my car coming up the lane and my husband was in it, and in I jumped. He'd had a profitable shopping trip and we were heading home with lots of gas points and a bunch of groceries after a quick strike in town! The only shocker of the day was that I found a tick crawling up my left thigh in the car. Yikes! Down went the window and I tossed that sucker out. A tick, in town! So y'all be careful out there!

My soundtrack song for this photo has to have something to do with plants or planting, so I give you the marvelous, stupendously talented, beautiful man that is Robert PLANT. The song has nothing at all to do with this story but I love it so much. So here is Robert Plant, with If I Were a Carpenter.