Our youngest was just starting school that year, and now she’s in college. It’s the gate that swung wide for all the neighborhood kids to come for a dip in the pool… And it’s the gate that our sweet doggies could peek through if they wanted to know what was going on in the world beyond their backyard.
Hubby built the gate to my exact specifications…I wanted a simple arbor above the gate for the clematis (which have just started blooming)… I wanted the stockade pickets spaced apart so you could see a hint of the outside world, or a peek into the garden, depending upon which side you stood… I wanted the pickets to get shorter and shorter toward the center of the gate…
…..and I wanted the gate to have a heart… After all, a heart is the symbol of love, and I loved all the memories being made in our little yard, and I loved all the people that came and went through that little gate.
The ‘heart’ of the gate offers a little glimpse into the magic that awaits you when you enter…. If you look in this direction, you might see a hummingbird feeding at the hanging fuchsia…
…and if you look over here, you might see a new Mr. & Mrs. Wren starting to build their home in this birdhouse that we just put up yesterday…
But for years now, the wood has started to rot away… Pickets are being nailed and renailed into fewer and fewer places where the wood is still strong enough to hold a nail or screw. The old wheel that once allowed the gate to roll effortlessly is long gone. Some of the pickets have broken at the bottom of the gate, but I wouldn’t change a one of them. The broken pickets have resulted in the little hole that our Chip(s) use to enter the backyard, gather their peanuts, and then scamper back through the opening with cheeks so full of peanuts that they barely fit!
Yes, it’s a lovely gate… old, worn, full of memories, built with love… It welcomes our family, friends, birds and all the little creatures that visit our little yard. I pray it lasts many, many more years as I’m not even close to ready for a new garden gate…
Donna
Today's song: Home is where the heart is - Elvis Presley
Oh I love that old gate too! It is so full of personality and I love how you wanted a heart in it. I looks so great with the wreath.
ReplyDeleteKady
Oh I love that old gate too! It is so full of personality and I love how you wanted a heart in it. I looks so great with the wreath.
ReplyDeleteKady
What a sweet and lovely post! I also know the pitfalls of nailing something so many times there's not much left to secure it but you might try "Liquid Nails" to preserve it longer and trust me, IT HOLDS. I'd try that before I gave up on that beautiful fence!
ReplyDeleteSmoochies,
Connie
Very poignant post Donna.
ReplyDeleteJanet
What a beautiful post! That gate is so full of lovely memories.
ReplyDeleteI also loved Elvis singing that song. I'd never heard it before. There just isn't and never will be again anyone with such a voice.
I love that! It reminds me of a gate that would be in Mr. McGregors Garden that Peter Rabbit would sneek under! It's sooo charming!
ReplyDeleteI completely understand...
ReplyDeleteI loved all the animal pictures :)
Have a beautiful evening my sweet friend.
hugs,
rue
My, you put a lot of thought into making that fence! And bless that husband for making it!
ReplyDeleteBrenda
How wonderful your enchanted gate is!
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful post! the gate looks so inviting..i want to sneak up and spy through the little heart and try to catch your chips munching on peanuts! even when the day comes that it gives out..you can always prop up the gate somewhere and plant around it...i am sure you will find a spot for it somewhere!
ReplyDelete~Angie
Can anyone compete with your garden! It is just sooooo awesome!
ReplyDeleteM ^..^
That IS a very sweet old garden gate. How absolutely romantic that your hubby built it for you!
ReplyDelete