The merits of making it count...

I love to see the forsythia flowering in full yellow!   It is one of the more fleeting pleasures in the garden ... but it heralds the start of a beauty parade that will carry on until the hard frosts of October hit.  
Some bits ... like the beautiful Bridal Wreath ... are showstoppers taking center stage for their brief moment in the sun.  Other, like the faithful Stella D'Oro daylilies sweeping along the woods by the pond will soon offer a bright burst of welcome until after Thanksgiving.
Gardeners tend to think in terms of the long haul.  Plans are often made in five and ten year increments that can seem a bit bare in the beginning to the untutored eye.
One of the other best bits about being retired is being able to make long range plans for my garden.   To be able to plant shade trees that I may someday sit under.   To be able to reap the enjoyment of a well establised perennials.
For my money, a well settled garden carries it's own special charms.   Mature gardens take less work ... which of course liberates one to actually spend time enjoying the space :)
Perhaps that is why I have such a special affection for senior pets.  Tomorrow will mark Winnie's two week anniversary here.   How are we doing?
I am happy to report that he is already housetrained ... and has happily settled into our little routine.   Winnie knows where his dinner spot is ... and already understands that the grass is not really greener in the other dinner dishes.
Even better, we all slept through the night from the very first.  Best of all of course is that Winnie has been old enough and wise enough to successfully navigate new relationships with all the family circus.
When I am planning my garden, I can think in terms of decades. I know that well tended perennials can carry on almost forever.  That the trees I bring home in the trunk of my car will in time tower over the house.
It is quite another cup of tea with living breathing sentient beings of any species.   In the game of life, seemingly big strong men can pass on before the ink is dry on their retirement certificate .... while families of dotty little old ladies who have gone to the fairies can hold centenary birthday bashes!
Anyone who has lived in the world for any time knows that time is a trickster that never offers any guarantees.  What does that mean in realspeak?  Why of course that age is really is relative.
As my friend Janice is always saying on her blog, why should senior pets be denied life because we humans limit ourselves with such narrow walls of time?  Truth be told, in such a high stress world ... that joyful ability to be able to live in the 'now' is the very best gift that our pets can share with us.
A pet is not an appliance or a car or a sound system.  Even when one buys a purebred puppy from a good breeder, there are still no guarantees than can transcend any Unforseen Unhappiness.

What time is it?   It is always time to understand that by itself time is meaningless.  The important bit is whether we make it count.