“Free mulch! Delivered.”  Bright and shiny, this Facebook advertisement caught my eye. All I had to do was sign up to be on a list and a friendly arborist would drop a neat pile of mulch in my driveway. The form warned that there might be some leaves in the batch. Not a big deal. What were a couple of leaves when you could mulch your beds for free? I clicked “submit” and sat back, waiting for a pick-up truck of mulch to appear in my drive.  See that lovely little pile of mulch in the picture? That would look lovely in my flowerbeds. Last spring, it took several trips to and from Ace Hardware with my van packed full of bagged mulch to get the job done. Not only would this drop-off service save me trips, but it would also save me money. Win, win!  Weeks passed. In the busy rush of life and raising children, I forgot about mulch and trucks and replenishing my flower beds.   Until one night, there was a knock on the door. A thin man stood before us, face dirtied from hard w

Did you know that George Washington's descendents lived in NE Florida not so terribly long ago? The kids and I took advantage of a respite in the rainy weather to hike a new trail. Hiking with kids is an amazing way to build an appreciation for nature. Not to mention we were all stir-crazy mad and in need of exercise after so much rain.  We packed a picnic basket full of lunch, some trail snacks, sunscreen, water, a map, and lots of bug spray and hit the road for a new-to-us trail about an hour south. Washington Oaks Gardens State Park is nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and Intercoastal Waterway in Palm Coast, Florida, south of St. Augustine. I've seen friends posting incredible pictures from this part recently and had to check it out. What we found was so much more than just another nature trail. Driving by on the highway, one has no idea such an intricate garden even exists and its essence is nearly  as fascinating as its storied past. The highest point in the