One of our assignments in Wild Summer Art was to think about some of the birdbaths we have known over the years, and any memories that may be connected to them. I immediately thought of the little elephant birdbath we had at our house in Plano. Oddly enough, it wasn't until after I had sketched him, and started to paint in a background, that I thought about Lex and those poppies.
You see, this little fellow was meant to be the centerpiece in my daughter's very first garden. Lexie, who was about thirteen or fourteen at the time, decided it was to be an herb garden. Unfortunately, once she got all the herbs planted, and the hot summer weather set in, she totally lost interest in it. For several months it just sat there looking sad and forlorn. So, when an elderly lady in one of my garden clubs offered me a little medicine bottle filled with tiny poppy seeds that she had collected from her own plants, I decided to scatter them about in this wasted space.
This particular variety had rather unattractive, spiny gray foliage, which ended up making the garden look even more unkempt, but I put up with it because I knew what was in store. At last, the heavy pods were ready to burst into bloom. The first thing I did each afternoon, when I got out of the car, was head straight to the garden to see if any had opened yet. Then one day, POOF! All of my poppies just disappeared. I was sick with disappointment, and couldn't figure out for the life of me what creature could have done this. I never got to see even a single bloom! It was all I could do not to burst into tears.
As soon as I stepped into the house, my daughter came running down the stairs with a big grin on her face. "Surprise!" Huh? "Didn't you see? In the garden! I finally went out and pulled all those ugly weeds in the herb garden!" And, POOF! Just like magic, my anger went the way of the poppies and disappeared. I gave her a big hug, thanked her for her efforts, then gently explained to her the difference between a poppy and a weed.
P.S. Though the garden and the birdbath are from our house near Dallas, the birds are all frequent visitors to our garden here in central Texas.
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