This week Abby and Maddy asked if they could be in charge of the e-newsletter so that they could send a special Father’s Day message to Joey, letting him know how much they love playing in the garden with him. How could I say no? If you want to hear it from them, click here.

Maddy:

I really love planting seeds in the garden with my daddy. He sticks his finger in the soil to make a hole, and I’m in charge of dropping the seeds into the hole and covering them up. We planted sunflower seeds this year and now they are taller than me. Sometimes I get to help him at the nursery. I like to say hi to all of the customers. I really like to organize the plants in a way that will make other kids, or maybe even a grown-up, want to garden, too.

Abby:

Whenever I want to write or draw, I go outside to the garden or to see the chickens. I look at the flowers, study the chickens’ eyes and watch how they move. I “watch the wind bow down the grass, and the grass rise.” That’s a quote from one of my favorite poems, Afternoon on a Hill, by Edna St. Vincent Millay. I smell the scent of flowers and herbs while I swing and watch butterfly after butterfly come to our garden.

Ever since I can remember, Dad and I have worked in our garden together. If you added up all of the food we have grown in our garden it would last a year. My love for the garden is almost as big as the watermelons growing in it. This Father’s Day, I hope we get to spend more time together working on growing something beautiful.

Well, all I can say is thanks, girls. I hope we get to have some time this weekend playing in the garden, too. And of course, I have to thank my dad for inspiring my love of gardening. We all hope you enjoy a great weekend, celebrating Dad.