Barefoot in the Park Crack Garden

Not so barefoot...you know me, and not so naive, either.

Last night after working on a small project in the backyard, I proclaimed to my youngest son that he should go take a look at my "crack garden". Of course, we had to discuss what I had just said. He tried to explain to me that "crack" doesn't grow....it is manufactured. How naive could I be?

Don't children always think that their parents are naive to the things of the world? Wouldn't it be great if we could be? Maybe they want us to be "innocent" just like we want them to stay "innocent".

There was a time when I was so naive that I thought Watergate had something to do with the Trinity River in Dallas. That was a time when wedding dresses, shag haircuts, and the latest in cork soled shoes were of more concern to me than what was being discussed on the news.

When children became a part of my everyday life, it was very important for me to be well informed. I would say, it became a matter of protection. If I didn't know what was in the world, how could I know how to protect these precious lives that God had entrusted to me. I had to know. I was to live not of the world, but rather in the world...no longer naive....a shock to my children because I don't always share everything I know until the time is right.

So when I wanted my son to visit my "crack garden", I was just having a little fun although it really was a "crack garden".



I had been spray painting some metal flowers and while they dried I stuck them in the "cracks" in the ground. In a hot, Texas summer, cracks in the ground can happen overnight no matter how much it is watered.

You may wonder why I was spray painting metal flowers. I stole an idea from a friend...thank you, Marcy!



which led me to some other ideas to add color to my garden.



My little red wagon gets too hot for real flowers to flourish. I won...now I have flowers where flowers won't grow!

I love my backyard...it still needs a little work...a garden always requires work, but what a great place for a little whimsy, reading a book in the swing, listening to running water in the birdbath,



and enjoying the "fruits" of our labor....



...yes, we have grapevines that really produce grapes!



I will be not of this world, but in this world...not so barefoot and not so naive!

If the shoe fits, wear it well!