Homage to Yard Work

I've had a beautiful day, out digging a border around the garden...

Che, shoosh, scrape, shoosh digging as the sun is shining. Digging though my hand hurts, the endorphins soon take care of that.

Che, shoosh, scrape, shoosh, che, che, che in the dirt to break up a clod and mix in scraps from the kitchen. The smell of citus permeates the air from the orange peels being broken by the shovel.

Move the square board back that I am digging into the ground for a border. Che, shoosh, scrape, shoosh, shoosh as the dirt piles cascade towards the hole that I am creating, gravity's draw never ceasing to work.

I hear my daughter, gathering rocks and see her out of the corner of my eye. Gathering them into a marvelous pile, right in the middle of the garden, I'll chase her out later.

Che, shoosh, scrape, shoosh, I put the board into place and back fill it with the loose clay, when I tamp it down, it's not going to move again. Wryly I think of my dad and helping him with the border around the garden at our old home. Perfectionist, it took forever, with his strings and level.

Che, shoosh, scrape, shoosh, back to work again as the neighbors arrive with their kids who they shoo to their back yard to play, next to ours at the right. Suddenly the chirups of the birds cease and the amusing sound of little boy's discussing, teasing, and playing takes over.

A couple of them stare at me as I am digging and filling. Then they run off and I hear one of them repeating "Will you marry me?" to no one in particular. While the others shout a frustrated "gah!" Aparently he say's that a lot and I think wryly at how well he will be prepared to ask the question when his time comes around.

"I am Spiderman!" says the middle one. The older one decides to answer the random marriage proposals "Nope, yeah, OK, no way!!, where are the flowers?"

I continue with my digging, while Roxie excitedly points out the stray kitties next door. "Kitty!! Kitty!!" She points then chases them, under the rusty old abandoned Jeep near the edge of the other neighbors property.

Che, shoosh, scrape, shoosh, whoops!! My boards look a bit wobbly, perhaps dad with his string wasn't so off after all. So I go back a bit and kick at the boards, trying to get them to move into place, except I hurt my toe so I quit it and ply them up again with the shovel.

Roxie kicks off her shoes and walks though the loose dirt, too bad I need my shoes to dig with the shovel.

I spy the board that caused all the trouble and wiggle it into its hole straighter than before. Then hold it in place with my foot as I back fill the dirt and stomp on it a bit to make it stay.

Che, shoosh, scrape, shoosh, nearly done, then I notice that the last board has a few screws sticking out of the end, it will have to wait for another day. I gather up my tools, then go search for Roxie, up on the rickety wooden stair case of the neighbors.

I glance appreciatively at Johns secluded back yard, what does he do anyway? He's not home much. I know at one point he was a landlord. He has random toilet replacement parts (I gleanned this bit when he was talking about being a land lord). There are bales of hay stacked in his carport, trays for the stray cats (a very motley bunch of cats if I may say so), a little rabbit hutch, a canoe, a bar high up that is good for pull-ups (thinks back to her twirling and hanging on pull-up bar days), tall grasses, assorted trees, actually a backyard straight out of paradise...

I think of the fence that I would like to put up to block off the right side of the yard. There is a parking lot there, then a little fence coming towards our house.
It encloses the little yard to the right but it dosen't block off the openness, not enough privacy. I could hide in the wildness of the abandoned yard next door for a long time.

Of course, fences, take time to put up - they are so much work... well, if I had a fence I could plant a bush. A bush!! Too much work. Sigh, I digress. (What about the chainlink? Nope too much work!! Well I will tackle that later and plant a bush.)

After all of that digging I came in to find my kittens sitting in the window, paying homage to the outdoors, I don't blame them I feel bad really but they haven't had their shots and Stripes isn't neutered yet.

So I drink a glass of water, it tastes so good. Meow at my cat, who is rubbing my leg. Then I go up stairs to lay down as my body releases endorphins, a thanks for the work, and I relax down into my pillows, now soft, not lumpy at all (for the moment)...