VIDALIA &045;&045; Near 90 degree temperatures Sunday probably kept most Miss-Lou residents indoors.

But the sunny weather was incentive enough to send John Brocato to work.

Brocato spent an hour of his Sunday afternoon caring for the snapdragons and the begonias.

He is responsible for the upkeep and colorfulness of a small garden at Vidalia’s Our Lady of the Lourdes Catholic Church.

The area around the church’s brick announcement sign is his garden.

&uot;They asked for volunteers one day in church, and I said I’d do it,&uot; Brocato said.

So for the last two years he has spent the necessary time to make everything bloom.

The gardening has been put on hold recently due to the spring’s heavy rains, but Brocato said he was glad to see it dry up a little.

&uot;This is the first weekend to be here doing anything,&uot; he said.

Besides having something to do, Brocato said he volunteered for the job because he has a long history with the church.

At age 15 his family moved from Ferriday and he started attending Our Lady of Lourdes, and he hasn’t left yet.

&uot;Thirty-five years here,&uot; he said.

&uot;I just feel like it is something I can do for the church.&uot;

And the church members let him know they appreciate his work often, he said.

Though Brocato said he does some work in his yard at home, there is nothing as colorful as the pink, purple and red snapdragons around the church sign.

Brocato’s gardening duties may expand a little in the future to include recently planted flowers around the actual building.

That garden is not yet his responsibility.

But Brocato said he wouldn’t mind doing it in the future.

But while Sunday brought them good weather, gardener such as Brocato may be once again greeted with rain this week, with scattered thunderstorms predicted throughout the week.

Temperatures are expected to drop down around 85 today with a 40 percent chance of rain.