MAY--THE QUEEN OF MONTHS

Did you know that the month is named for Ma'a, a Roman goddess and mother of the god Hermes? Its astrological sign is Taurus, the bull, April 20--May 21.

The full moon of May is called the Flower Moon because of the lushness and beauty of all the flowering and growth of plants. Also associated with this month is the Green Man, the male form covered with leaves and branches. He is an ancient spirit of the forest who brings life to the fields and forests after the long, dark winter.

And did you know that many flowers and shrubs that bloom now are associated with magic? People planted lilacs near the house to repel evil in days past.

May is also the month when yard and garden work begin in seriousness around Tabby Abbey. Usually the long Memorial weekend is the official start of the frenzy with trips to nurseries and plant shopping. Some years all the clean up work has already been done by this time, but not this year. We still have all of that to do as well. And most of the veggie garden will be turned back to lawn. The raised herb bed will be planted again, but anything else we'll grow will be in containers.

Turning the garden area back to lawn will give Elmo more space to roam (and also more grass for mom to cut but, oh well). We won't need to water as much with a veggie garden in containers. Not sure yet what all we will try and grow. Tomatoes for sure. We can get carrot tops from the neighbors, if they grow them this year. Last year Tabby Abbey was gifted with many huge bunches of carrot tops that the bunnies enjoyed for some time. Our carrot tops were pitiful.

We acquired some new chairs for the front porch and the goal is to make the area more of a "room" to be used in the nice weather. It's very pleasant to sit on the porch in the summer evenings with a nice glass of iced tea, or wine and enjoy the yard after the work is done. It's very relaxing and de-stressing.

After getting the chairs home, it was decided to make a few toss pillows for a little added comfort and homeyness (sp?) and a little search at Wal-Mart found just the right fabric for the covers. In fact, this fabric would tie all the colors of the chairs together. The colors we got are the green and the orange and it was a difficult decision! They are all pretty colors! Our local garden shop at Platt Hill Nursery had them on sale.