The front flowerbeds flanking the driveway entrance to our home are transformed. Gone are the spineless cacti. Laid low by the freeze, I cut them down and dug them up. Mostly, there are still two to go, but I’ll get them today. The debris is on the burn pile, but some is strategically located on the back lots. There, cactus being cactus, the living pads will root. I guess it would be more appropriate to say I transplanted them.

Back to the front. The big sage will now take center stage as will the newly exposed Texas Sotol. I will even add a few Sotols. The sage, meanwhile, remains winded from the freeze but I can see new shoots here and there, and I suspect all will eventually be well. At least I hope so. I like the sage and when it blooms after the big rains, it is almost always covered with bees, working the lavender blooms as if there were no tomorrow.

It feels good to be working on a big project again. The holidays were harder than expected and then came January and February with their cold and rain and snow and my spirits were laid low. But, I’m back, and here we go. I still find myself wondering what my wife would think about the current job. Projects like this were almost always based on discussions. Now it’s just me talking to myself. I guess that will pass with time. Meanwhile, I’ll do the best I can, channeling her spirit and trying to finish what we started, a man with one oar in the water and a lousy sense of direction.