By EnglandGal@aol.com
On September 11th I woke to a phone call from my father
in England telling me about the disaster that hit this beautiful country
called America, a country I am proud to be living in and one that I call
my home.
The day before my vacation, I had taken the day off to
do some last minute chores as I prepared for my flight to Baltimore to
assist The Animals' Agenda magazine in their office for six days, as
well as attend a two day conference in Virginia at United Poultry
Concerns.
Needless to say my flight never left the ground.
I had to make a decision as to whether I was going to
continue my vacation or go back to work and take it at a later date. I
felt too emotional and distraught at the horrific news as I watched
endless hours of CNN, listened to radio broadcasts, and witnessed sad
and numb expressions on the faces of friends and strangers, slowly
driving me further into this sad and sorry condition I was in.
The sunny skies of Florida soon turned into gray skies
with heavy rain and windstorms that followed. It was as if the earth was
mourning, and the sky was sobbing at the needless and horrendous loss of
innocent lives.
A few days later the gray skies turned back to blue and
I wanted to do something on this earth to remember the tragic loss of
life, so I created my own memorial site in my back yard, a butterfly
garden. It was a cheerful project, and a way to cope and distract myself
from hours of being glued to the television, feeling hopeless and
helpless as the tragedy turned more and more into a living nightmare.
Should you feel inspired to make a Butterfly Garden of
your own, I would suggest getting most, if not all, of the following
supplies:
* Bird Bath
* Small fish pond (but NO fish)!
* Three to five stepping stones
* Gravel rocks
* White picket fence (12 inches or higher to keep curious "Fur Kids"
out).
* 3 to 5 Solar lights
* Bird feeders
* Windchimes
* Plant pots
* Decorative watering can
* Inspirational rocks (with sayings such as "love", "inspiration",
"memories", "tranquility", "hope")
* Decorative small garden decorations
* Butterfly attracting plants (pentas, lantana, passionvine, milkweed)
* Ground cover (vines, ivy, or simply dried leaves or mulch).
This evening I sat and sipped tea by the butterfly
garden, surrounded by my 'fur kids'. Although my thoughtful project will
never bring back the lost lives or heal the aching hearts of those that
were left behind, it will always be a place that I will gaze into and
know that those innocent victims will never be forgotten.
Susan Roghair, President
Animal Rights Online
Go on to Don't Give Up
Return to 23 September 2001 Issue
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