Mother Nature (originally published 2019)

Mother Nature

Missouri Botanical Garden, 2018

We don't often write about current generations when we document our family histories, but they, too, are part of our stories. This week's theme is the perfect time to record a little story about my granddaughter, Rose. She claims to be Mother Nature. 

Although Mother Nature will tell you Saturn is the prettiest planet (because of its rings, of course), she is focused on taking care of the Earth. She enjoys learning about animals, but plants seem to be her favorite. She knows about the important role they play to keep the earth healthy and to provide oxygen for us to breathe and food for us to eat.

One day Mother Nature insisted on having a flower costume. Naturally, I took her to the store. We bought a green shirt (she couldn't be a plant without a stem). We couldn't find green pants so we got white pants and painted them green. Her head, of course, was the flower. 

Here she is in just the flower part of the costume.  She said she was waiting to be pollinated.

 

Mother Nature is really enjoying Spring this year. She helped me plant a lot of things in my garden. She is not very fond of worms, but she understands that they help plants grow. She eats the harvest, usually before we even get it washed (we don't use any insecticide, of course, so it's okay). Her favorites are berries and cherry tomatoes, but today she ate some basil and a big handful of dill. She tells me she likes squash. We'll see about that. 

She is excited our cherry tree is getting a ton of cherries on it. After all, she spent about 20 minutes with me one day watching the bees pollinating the flowers. 

Their hard work is about to pay off!

A couple of weekends ago we visited the Missouri Botanical Garden. We are frequent visitors, mainly because Mother Nature chooses to go there.

While walking on a path, a yellow butterfly started following her. She asked, "Does she know who I am?" I replied, "Who are you?" She said, "I'm Mudder Nature!." I am certain the butterfly knew that. She told a lot of the plants and flowers that she hopes they grow well. 

She is such a nurturing mother.

This 4 year old little girl's love of nature is nothing short of inspiring. 

We should all love the Earth as much as she does. 

Rose holding a rose.

Missouri Botanical Garden, 2019