Given the beautiful weather this month, I took Memorial Day weekend to ready my yard finally for summer. As I stood on the back porch this evening looking at the plants, the planters, the clear porch, I realized just how far I had come. At the same time, I felt a sense of accomplishment, a sense of peace, and an eagerness to rejoice in my work.
When I moved into this house 4.5 years ago, the yard was a disaster. It took 15 months to clean out and replace the front yard completely. The previous owner made poor decisions, and I had to work around the mess he left in replacing it. Given the uncertainty of my wage, I opted to do the work largely myself, and so it took many months of evenings to accomplish anything visible. Frequently, I finished class at 9PM and felt so exhausted that I did nothing that night. On weekends, I had grading, errands, and chores, so that after hiking I didn't do anything then either. I used furlough days, holidays like today, and a few dedicated replacement days to accomplish the lion's share and save on a project I was quoted $9000 to achieve for a little less than half that sum.
For many months, the yard felt like an eyesore. I was forced to work around debris and badly planned structures and existing landscaping in order to transform what was into what I desired. That's what I do as a chemist. I turn what is into what I desire by changing the conditions. I had rocks stacked on the back porch for years, and I'm so glad to clear the spiders from the house and hose off the porch completely for the first time in so long. I feel great. It looks great. My friend thinks I'll be able to add a significant sum to the asking price for the house when I leave.
A few things remain that must remain due to weather until fall. Most of the rest of the plants must wait until then. I want to do all of that planning and planting together in order to make the work efficient. I decided to keep but modify the covered pagoda in the back (or whatever to call it), but it's quite an endeavor, so I'll leave it for now until I acquire some hands to do the heavy lifting. I also ran out of rocks for the back yard, so I'll have to procure more in order to actually put the finishing touches on the yard. It will look nice. It will be welcoming. It will probably please my Maker.
I know I'm kind of messy and disorganized and disjointed. I know I'm a crackpot and a cracked pot, so I put a few of those out back too. I planted a tree to shade my dog even though he may not live much longer. I think God would feel good in my yard. He sent me here to tend His garden and take good care of it. He gave me a very small spit of land to beautify and nurture. He gave me an even smaller fraction of His children to contact and nurture. However, as I stood on the porch, I felt His approbation which is why I think I felt excited. As I did, five ducks swept down into the estuary in the easement behind my house, and later I saw some hummingbirds checking out the new digs. I hope it will blossom and bloom and bear fruit. At least then something in my life might.
**Tuesday I'll get some pictures posted so you can see how it's changed over the years.**
Here's the video showing from its earliest stage to 27 May 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment