Taking a Pause
I put on a long sleeve shirt and worked in the yard day Friday I needed the shirt because I was hauling brush. I have a deal with my arborist son. He trims; I haul. I get a professional trimming job for doing the grunt work. The brush in question was cuttings off the sumac. He trimmed it while I was in Houston. It now has a nice an airy look to it, and while sitting on the south porch I can see the pasture once again. Sweet deal.
I also mowed, but that’s nothing new. That’s a perpetual job along with line trimming. You just do it to keep the yard looking nice. I’d say I do it for the neighbors, but that’s not true. I do it for myself. It makes me feel good. I suppose one day I’ll decide enough’s enough and just stop or maybe I’ll move into a condo. But truthfully, that’s highly unlikely. I like my plants and they seem to like me. We provide comfort to one another. And I don’t know if I could bear to leave them.
Yesterday morning, Saturday, I tended the little gardens flanking the driveway entrance. Hackberries and grape vines were growing into the sage, and they need tending. It was also time to cut out the remaining deadwood from the sage, the bits of the plants killed by the big freeze. Removing them will give the rest of the sage space to flourish. I think that today, the third day, John will rest and leave the sweating for tomorrow. It just feels like an enjoy the bounty of nature day. So, I will give it a go, breathing deep, and soaking it all in.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale