By LYNNE IRONS

Roseanne Roseannadanna had it right. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. I am grateful to own a couple of vehicles, but wouldn’t you know, two were on the blink in the same day. Everyone should have such problems! The good news was, however, it forced me to stay home and tend my own garden.

Once again I squandered perfectly good advice. I mentioned a few weeks ago about the necessity of hauling out the deer repellent to thwart the pests in their own quest for tulips. Did I do it? Of course not. They wiped me out in one night. I am hopeful that I still may get some blooms, as they only ate the leaves. I doused the remains with year-old very stinky Bobex. The proverbial closing of the barn door after the big equine escape!

Speaking of tulips, nature is not only forgiving but relentless and opportunistic. I placed a bale of hay inadvertently over a patch in the fall and they pushed their way through the bale this spring. The stems must be two feet long.

Last week’s thunderstorm brought up an interesting conversation in a local coffee shop. We were all discussing our sissy dogs when someone mentioned that part of the reason dogs are so unhappy in thunder and lightning is the static electricity in the air. Someone else offered that rubbing the fur with a clothes dryer sheet will cut the static and ease the animal’s discomfort. Who knew?

This Sunday there will be another meeting of the homegrown initiative at the Agricultural Hall at 4 p.m. We decided to start later because of Daylight Saving Time (it doesn’t save any daylight but never mind).

We will be trading some dahlia tubers and any extra seedlings. It will be an opportunity for first-time attendees to share in the loot!

My friend Marie Laursen is still waiting for her seeds. When she phoned the mail-order company, she was informed that business is so brisk that they are weeks behind in processing the orders. I guess a recession grows interest in vegetable gardening. Seed sales are up double digits this year, the biggest spike in 30 years!

I was interested in a phone conversation with my friend Mary Ellen, also known as Mac. She is recovering from foot surgery and has been catching up on her bird-watching. She heard and has had the chance to observe that birds seem to know if it will rain all day, and will visit the feeder in the downpours. However, if it showers only intermittently, they will only come when it stops raining. She also mentioned her fiendish delight at watching squirrels attempting to climb the Pam-sprayed pole to her feeder. Thanks, Mac, I needed that visual to put me back in good spirits.

My hellebores are absolutely stunning. I have the Royal Heritage strain. They have been blooming for several weeks. The hellebore is a native of western Asia. It is also called the Lenten rose. It is deer resistant, long-lived and will spread nicely with little or no help. Because the blooms droop, one needs to stop and lift it up to fully appreciate its beauty.

Stopping to appreciate beauty is, after all, our whole purpose in gardening.