The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

•T he I FP • H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, M ay 9 , 2 01 3 8 Made to live outside Patio Furniture is Here! All Hot Tub Floor Models on Sale 905-873-2753 265 Guelph St., Georgetown Open Seven Days A Week and up GEORGETOWN GARDEN CENTRE 140 GUELPH ST. 905-877-8882 (The former Georgetown Fruit Market building) OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! HANGING BASKETS 10" & 12" Baskets Huge Selection of Large selection of Perennials, Herbs & Accent Planters FOR THE GARDEN $1.99 25 L bagTOPSOIL$5.99 2 cu ftMULCH Large bag! Red/Cedar/Canada Red/Black EXOTIC PLANTS Happy Mother's Day Fresh Cut Bouquets 3 for $10Arrangements of Exotic Blends, Daisies & more Huge Selection of in colours for SUNDAY, MAY 12TH Last fall, The Sidekick wanted to plant a bunch of bulbs, so come spring, her world would be rocked with a splash of colour from one end of the farm to the other. "It's a waste of time," I said. "All you're doing by planting bulbs is feeding the damn squirrels-- they'll dig them up as fast as you can plant 'em." For those who know The Sidekick, optimism is one of her prime traits. She can hang onto the smallest bit of hope until the 11th hour-- sometimes, she ac- tually pulls it off. So she purchased 160- odd bulbs, every size, shape, colour and variety. She spent a few days in the fall, tucking bulbs here and there, and felt a bit like she was engaged in hiding eggs in a huge Easter egg hunt, months in advance. Winter came and went, and soon the warm earth started to soak up the sunshine. The Sidekick's bulbs were more than a success. She has daffodils growing in places I've never seen before during my 60-odd years. And she's over the moon with her success. "I love fl owers," she says, "But I've never had great luck growing them-- they just die." Unlike the past, The Sidekick has success- fully produced a mag- nifi cent array of spring fl owers. One spot of interest is the 'mound' of daf- fodils that are grow- ing (get this) in the swamp. "I didn't plant any down there," she said with a certain amount of disbelief. "Did you?" I assured her that walking through the wet marshy area to plant a bunch of bulbs was NOT up there on my bucket list. I explained that she had some help, and the squirrels probably swiped a bunch of her planted bulbs and stored them in the marsh, where they started to grow… I told you that story, to tell another. I'm an animal of habit. Every day I follow the exact same routine as I wake, dress, and head to the barn to tend to the sheep, before return- ing to the house to prepare for work. My situation is a bit unique-- I live in same house that I grew up in, and have never lived anywhere else. So when one lives in such an atmo- sphere, one starts to notice the minute changes that have taken affect over the days, weeks, months, even years. I no- tice the old willow tree in the lane way is leaning a bit more, I see the loose board on the big barn that needs attention, and I can see the lawn needs to be cut. These are all the small tidbits of infor- mation that fl ash through my brain as I take inventory of the world around me, on my way to and from the barn. Lately, I've been watching one cluster of daffodils. Because The Sidekick used the random 'mix-'em-up-and- see-what-we-get' approach in planting, it's a bit like Christ- mas morning to see what fl owers open where. Early one morning, the sun was creeping over the horizon, striking the path to the barn. The daffodils looked about the same as they had the day before. Having fought with a fl u bug the past few days, my motivation level certainly wasn't up to the mark. I dragged myself past the daffodils, to the barn, 'made it' through the chores, then start- ed the return 'journey' to the house. As I approached the cluster of daffodils, something was differ- ent about them. There was another burst of colour, a splash of bril- liant red in the centre of the group. With the warm morning sun, four of the reddest of red tulips had popped open, while I was at the barn. I stood there and took it all in. I felt so uplifted-- to think a simple thing like tulips opening in the morning sun can do that. I photographed the fl owers with my Blackberry and fi red off a copy of the photo to The Sidekick's smart phone. My message was simple. "Thank you for making my day..." A Ted Bit Taking time to notice the small stuff... TED BROWN --Ted Brown can be reached at tbrown@theifp.ca