Under the Garden Gate

Bringing together animals, art, poetry and song to inspire, bring joy and wonder and emphasize the importance of all the little creatures who come into the yard under the garden gate. 

 

Poems and Illustrations by Thistle

Delightful true tales inspired by the comings and goings of the creatures who come into my yard under the garden gate. Featuring Samantha a feral cat who had kittens under my front porch and Red a field mouse who wouldn’t stay out of the house.

Listen to the stories

Red’s Tale

Woodrow Wanders

 

Who’s in Thistle’s Yard?

3/29/23 – Feral cat – Harriet

Who’s in your yard?

I enjoy watching the animals in my yard.  One day my husband and I noticed a large cat roaming through our backyard.  We assumed it was a male cat because it was big. My husband named it Sam.  Several months later, there were little “mews” under our front porch. Sam gave birth to 4 kittens.  Sam then became Samatha. For six weeks we brought her food and water and watched “the kitten show” every afternoon.   Samantha became very trusting of us. With the help of the local cat rescue society we caught her and the kittens. We kept Samantha as our house cat and the rescue society found homes for the kittens.

I also enjoy art, poetry and song.  My training mainly comes from the amazing teachers of  classes through community adult education programs.  I use the skills I’ve learned to bringing my poems about animals to life through drawing and song.

In my spare time I love to knit light lacy shawls and sweaters.  I read my poems to my knitting group as I wrote them. They enjoyed them and asked for more. Soon I had enough for a book – Under the Garden Gate. 

All the poems/songs/illustrations are from real events in my yard. I hope theses stories inspire you to find wonder and joy in your yard.

Your bard – Thistle

Birds love to eat thistle seeds. At first glance, a thistle looks harsh with its prickly leaves and stem, but when you look closer, it is a very beautiful flower.  I try to look beyond the surface and find beauty in everything.  I hope you do as well.