When you were a kid, I’m sure you played hide-and-seek. And if you think back, you can probably call to mind memories of hiding in some of your best spots. You know, the spots where no one could find you and where you had to exercise quite a bit of patience to not jump out and say, “Here I am.” Kind of like Maddy in this old towel bin. If she had just pulled that top down a little more, I never would have seen her.

Of course, since you can’t reuse a hiding spot, you had to have a few different possibilities, depending on who you were playing with. The first that I remember is the dog kennel. It took a bit of squeezing to get into, but it also took a while for anyone to come looking for me there. The second, and probably my best hiding spot, was behind a tall China cabinet in our dining room. It stood in a corner at an angle, so there was a bit of space behind it, and it had a bonus. It is also where we kept the extra leaf for the dining room table. If you got behind the cabinet, put your legs tight together and leaned the extra table leaf back, you were all but invisible. I’m pretty sure I panicked at least one babysitter with that hiding spot. And my third is what reminded me of Maddy. We had a wicker hamper filled, not with old towels, but dirty clothes. I’d take the top third out, get in and then pile the dirties back on top. Seems a little gross now, but when winning at hide-and-seek is your priority, you are willing to go pretty far.

So, what was your best hiding spot? Shoot me an email at [email protected]. I’d love to hear, plus I need some good places to hide the next time Abby and Maddy want to play.

And speaking of hiding, we’ve been hiding a little surprise at the nursery. OK, we haven’t been hiding it all that well, but it has been under a tarp the majority of the last three months. One of our wildly artistic staff members has painted what we have dubbed The Butterfly Mural. The next time you are in the nursery, snap a picture of yourself striking your best butterfly pose and tag us on Facebook or Instagram so that we can see you spread your wings. And while you’re at it, see how many plants you can identify in the mural. The official unveiling will be on March 7th at 9:30 am, and it will be the start of our 40th Birthday Celebration. We hope to see you there.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. This weekend is all about veggies. Saturday at 10 am is the Spring Veggie Gardening workshop. The weather looks like it is going to be nice and cool. Perfect for planting a garden, so come out and learn all about growing veggies in Florida. What a great way to enjoy a little bit of Life Lived Outside.