A Living Memorial to Tammy
May 11, 2013 devoted animal lover and rescuer Tammy Buckley was brutually murdered. The person responsible called a mutual friend, very coldly stated what he had done, told our friend to call 911, and advised that he was going to kill himself. Our mutual friend and a few others including myself waited throughout the night to find out if this were true or just a sick joke. We knew the police were on the scene but could not find out anything else.
I got up the next day at 6:00 knowing that sleep was impossible and divided a huge hosta our classmate Robin had given me in class Friday. I dug up a section of the yard where my large rescued dogs had lived out their lives and planted twenty sections of the hosta, one for each of Tammy's current dog family.
This past week has been difficult. All the rescuers could do was mourn Tammy. We are still in shock.
I just realized that the canna rhizomes that I am planting were ones that I bought several years ago at the flea market - they were Tammy's!!! I remember her saying all I had to do was lay them on the ground and they would grow. I had been afraid to try them because I'd always heard they were difficult. Instead of the complicated instructions on the Internet - store them in sand, keep them moist, but not too moist, etc. etc., Tammy told me all that was necesary was to dig them up after a killing frost turned the foliage black, brush off the dirt and stash them away in dog food bags out of the reach of pets over the winter, The only deviation from Tammy's instructions was that I used cat food bags.
I think I bought $2 worth - a quarter apiece. Last year I harvested forty or so from the original eight. I will cherish these living memorials and keep them as long as I can!
I got up the next day at 6:00 knowing that sleep was impossible and divided a huge hosta our classmate Robin had given me in class Friday. I dug up a section of the yard where my large rescued dogs had lived out their lives and planted twenty sections of the hosta, one for each of Tammy's current dog family.
This past week has been difficult. All the rescuers could do was mourn Tammy. We are still in shock.
I just realized that the canna rhizomes that I am planting were ones that I bought several years ago at the flea market - they were Tammy's!!! I remember her saying all I had to do was lay them on the ground and they would grow. I had been afraid to try them because I'd always heard they were difficult. Instead of the complicated instructions on the Internet - store them in sand, keep them moist, but not too moist, etc. etc., Tammy told me all that was necesary was to dig them up after a killing frost turned the foliage black, brush off the dirt and stash them away in dog food bags out of the reach of pets over the winter, The only deviation from Tammy's instructions was that I used cat food bags.
I think I bought $2 worth - a quarter apiece. Last year I harvested forty or so from the original eight. I will cherish these living memorials and keep them as long as I can!