Mrs. Teabody Gets Help

Good Morning, Gentle Reader. "There's a bit of light," announced Mr. Teabody quietly at ten minutes before five, and indeed there was, and what a pleasure to greet the day in pajamas on the veranda sipping the day's first cuppa,  Adagio's Pride and Joy, whilst listening to the morning chorus. Mrs. Teabody hopes you spend some of your time in the woods far from any thoroughfare to know what quiet is. Quiet is lovely.

If you remember yesterday, and there is no reason you should not as it  happened so recently, perhaps you remember that Lady Glass and Mrs. Teabody had been struck by an acute case of plant envy upon viewing Lady MacDonald's sublime flowering foundation plant.  You, Gentle Reader, should be amazed to learn that one of Mrs. Teabody's esteemed friends, the Viscountess Ritchey, leapt to assist the two by identifying the plant as a black lace elderberry shown below.

The Viscountess had scarcely revealed the identity before phone inquiries to local garden/plant centers began in earnest unfortunately with negative results. No one in the hamlet or in neighboring villages was familiar with such a beauty so at the end of the day Mr. and Mrs. Teabody climbed into their ancient motor car and set out for more far-flung points as Mrs. Teabody wanted to reward Lady Glass for an especially fine banner she'd woven for Tickle Your Fancy. While the Teabodys came up short at Lovell's for black lace elderberry, they did so enjoy the wonderful arbor vitae topiaries there -- especially the elephant! and the llama! Mon Dieu! Further along that thoroughfare at Snavely's, the young man in attendance knew precisely where the elusive shrub was resting and a few moments later, a fine specimen had been located for Lady Glass. Most satisfactory!

From there it was a pleasure to drive along the roads less traveled by to Greencastle for a lovely repast at Cafe del Sol. Back at Chez Teabody there was still enough light in the sky to enjoy a bit of  garden gazing and afterwards share a glass of Fragolino in the twilight inside the secret garden.

With all these blessings packed into one brief day in May, how can one feel but utterly content? 

Life is not all glorious May days filled with helpful and loving friends, filled with fun and easy excursions, filled with loving and amusing companions, but when such a day happens, it is bliss.

As Mr. Browning (facetiously!) writes in a segment of a longer poem:

The year’s at the spring,

And day’s at the morn;

Morning’s at seven;

The hill-side’s dew-pearled;

The lark’s on the wing;

The snail’s on the thorn;

God’s in His heaven—

All’s right with the world!

Ta, Darlings!