My Life So Far With the Ever-Blooming Iris; A Tribute to Marc

I love to garden; it is one of my favorite pastimes. I have roses, hostas, lilies (of the valley, as well as of the tiger and Asian persuasions, among others), ornamental grasses, and on and on (and on...); rainbows of color surround my front door (and are gradually working their way around the sides toward the back as I live in this house longer!), with one grand exception: the Ever-Blooming Iris I purchased from Spring Hill Nursery.

I've always had great luck with their plants, seeds, and bulbs; this is not a warning about an evil company selling bad products. Indeed, this Iris is the first issue I've had with a plant from any catalog or nursery in a long, long time.

I planted this particular Iris two years ago. Yes, two years ago. It holds a place between the wine barrel of impatiens and a Joseph's Coat climbing rose, just beneath the living room picture window. It is backed by red azaleas and fronted by Northern Lights Grass and white creeping phlox. The soil is good, and surrounding plants are bursting with life and color, but the Ever-Blooming Iris?... To its credit it has remained green. It sends up new blades.

And for the first time, just this week, while Ernesto continues to pound us with rain and wind, it's first flower has opened. It is gorgeous! Ahem, correction: it was gorgeous.

Enter Hawthorne, that great bundle of energy and joy that is my dog. It is his appointed duty to ... water? ... my plants. He makes his rounds every morning and evening, giving each small grouping of life a zing of piss as if to say, "Without my juju, you would be nothing." He is very thorough, hardly ever missing any particular flower or leaf. Just this spring, my white Asiatic lilies took a beating as Hawthorne just had to plant his paws firmly in the center of the group to make sure his urine penetrated the depths of the deep forest of stalks as they burst forth from under the Willow tree. Some survived to bloom, others made their way into a vase on the mantel, and some--let's just say I hope they return next year, with the addition of a cute little stone wall that will offset the graceful curves of the Willow and the sharp, deep green leaves of the lilies...

The Iris, it appears, though claimed to be ever-blooming, may have the ironic twist of fate that keeps some from ever living up to their potential (let alone their names)...

Stomp! Twist! Stomp, stomp, stomp! Pissssssssssss... Stomp, Dig, dig, dig, stomp!!!

While I dive into the flower bed, knocking my bad knee squarely on the top corner of the wine barrel, Hawthorne, in an attempt to avoid my swinging arms to shoo him from the destruction, backpedals directly through the remaining clump of Iris leaves and darts around the side of the house to hide under the Blue Spruce.

She was a beautiful flower. And a rock wall will not be aesthetically pleasing where she will attempt to resurface next spring...

Sigh.

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A good friend has passed away this week. Marc, from Voyeur Nation, has departed this Earth. He had his share of bumps in the road. An abusive father, an organ transplant, many surgeries and procedures... But he was always in a great mood. Sure, he had his down-days, but even then, his sense of the ironic and silly shined through, making others laugh and talk and learn. He also had an ongoing "Musical Friday Flashback" series that always educated me on music from back in the day (read: the eighties). He was also always redesigning his blog, taking pleasure from learning new codes and combos of HTML to achieve great effects. He is also the one who had the idea of a blog of gay men sharing in their thoughts and journeys through life, in which the blog Gay Men Rule was born. He may have been bed-bound at times, but he never stopped learning, reaching out to others, laughing and sharing. He was a courageous, caring, wonderful person that will be sorely missed, and greatly loved and remembered.

I only knew you for a few short months, Marc. But I won't forget you. Thanks for being part of my life.

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I would also like to take this extremely belated opportunity to apologize to my awesome sis-in-law, Ann, for missing her birthday back in July. Also, happy birthday to my husband who doesn't read this blog (so I could call him a pig-headed stubborn mule and he'd never know it!) who has turned a grand ol' 35. Happy Birthday Ann and Rich!!