Totally Tidy Pinecone Park

Whoa! It’s done!

All the junk is gone from my yard — all of it. There is total order in Pinecone Park & Spa for the first time since I moved in. It feels verygood. I worked hard; there was tons of lifting and throwing, and now I feel super satisfied, proud and pleasantly exhausted.

The forest floor released a rich delicious sent as I removed the tons of trash. It’s asmell I’ve smelt before in the woods but never in the gardens of my life — the luscious fecund smell of raw nature. And … by jiminy, a cricket.

There’s a small pile of stuff left that Vanessa wants to keep. She’ll come back for it tomorrow. She’s so sweet; we hug good-bye. I was smitten at first meeting as I was with the wool farmer I met at the last Farmers’ Market.

I also used some sheets of roofing and plywood to enclose my primary woodshed. It’s now completely rainproof and ready for wood to be stacked for next Winter.

I loved working in the fresh morning air and the smell of the earth. I loved doing physical labour that I can handle. There’s something wonderful about doing practical physical labour and bringing beauty to your environment.

Loading up the truck with Vanessa was fun. (I had my speaker playing CBC 2 outside.) We loaded up her truck with everything except the waste wood and while she took that load to the Nanaimo dump, I finished the cleaning up and got ready for her return and a second load. It’s a delight to my eye to see the area between the buildings transformed. 

I feel connected to the land and to the people of the island. When I came, I lived as though expecting a notice to vacate. This place felt like someone else’s and I never had that feeling in past digs. It did not feel like mine but it does now — and better then any previous home has (except my home with Steve). 

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I’ve become a fan of the Spotted Towhee. They and Sparrows dominate the flock at the feeders right now. There’s an incredible variance in the species; from a deep rich auburn to a pale sunset gold, their chests are many shades and a beguiling variety  of beautiful bright white spots covers their wings. 

Dump Day

Following up on the night with the bat, Fred had another active night. 

I was awakened by a loud noise I couldn’t identify. It scared me; I decided something must have fallen on my tin roof and turned over to go back to sleep. Then I heard scratching and then cat wailing and went into the bathroom to find that Fred trapped inside the clear glass shower cubicle. He’d climbed over the wall.

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I watched a heartbreaking but inspirational documentary last night about the first same-sex couple to get married in the US and the recent PBS production of Falsettos. It was a weepy night but very moving; I was enthralled through both shows.

The doc about Tony and Richard was a testament to love. Theirs was an incredible story because Tony was Australian so the American federal government’s refusal to recognize their union meant they lived with the fear of deportation as their constant companion.

The nadir of the film was the appearance of the despicable Clintons. He signed the Defense of Marriage Actand supported it. I hate them. DOMA made same-sex marriage illegal. I hate the Clintons — I'm on the left but respect ethics.

Falsettoswas mesmerizing — but then I love musicals (James Lapine and Andrew Rannels). However, I was surprised at how moving it was. It’s a staccato opera. There’s hardly any speech and no segues; scenes are numbers and some of the numbers are heart-stoppingly well written. It was a telecast of a Broadway revival shown on the Live from Lincoln Centre series; it’s a series I’ve come to love.

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I realize I overestimated my annual electrical costs. This summer I’ll not use any electricity for heating so my projections were too high. Still, I’m sensitized now to the cost of heating. I’m likely to want heat pump and to live through next winter differently than the last one. Last year I was so excited about having a fireplace it was lit all the time I was awake; that can’t happen next year.

The big question is the hot tub. It’s such an extravagance. Mine seats eight, I live here alone and many guests don’t even use it. Such a first world problem, I have!

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It’s clear and beautiful this morning. Vanessa comes and 9:00 and we’ll load up her truck with as much of the crap in my courtyard as we can. Soon, a huge project will be done and now I’m swimming with covered storage space for wood.

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The Sparrows are back in their Spring finery. Some are yellow, some blue and some are red; some Towhees have turned a light golden colour instead of the deep auburn I usually see.

Chris at Bat

The bat spent the day in the loft, but I saw it fly into my bedroom last night at 6:30 so I closed the door, went outside and removed the window screen, went back into the bedroom and opened the window wide and it flew out. I was veryhappy to be free of it and that it was free. I wish I knew how it got inside the house, though.

At 7:00 I saw my first wild raccoon here. He was perched on a tree just outside my yard and looking at all the garbage in my courtyard. 

I actually liked working yesterday. I’m thrilled to be on the verge of having a very tidy lot. Now it’s easy to reach my cistern and I’ve tons of space for firewood. Today I’ll finish up cleaning up the ground of the sheds. The next steps will be sawing up the remaining wood into burnable sized pieces for winter kindling and ordering firewood for the winter to stack.

I figure my electricity will be around $3,600 for the year. I have to heat two buildings; my studio can’t get humid or all my ladies will wilt. I also burned about $1,800 worth of wood so that’s five grand on heating this year. Regardless, fires are a winter passion and so now that my three woodsheds are cleared I can start looking for wood. I can easily store six cords; that’ll give me a good supply while I set my strategies for next winter.

I’m thinking I may get a heat pump and only light fires on special occasions. I also have to decide if the hot tub is worth the money it costs to keep it going. 

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I’m still talking extremely well. A spell of remarkable fluency began a few days ago and I’m thrilled. I think it’s because I’m so happy and I feel so “on top” of things.

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Today’s agenda is more woodshed trash management. It’s inspiring work; it’s only 6:30 am and I’m keen to get at it. It’s surprisingly “fun” to have this kind of work to do. I still haven’t done my taxes and dread doing them; I’m delighted to find myself inclined to physical labour. 

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The end of the month could see a significant step in the story of Defiant Dress. My friend Bill, the former Artistic Director of the theatre I’m hoping might be interested in it, is coming for lunch and he’ll see my ladies. I think that will enable an easy segue into asking him to read it — it’s his kind of play — and perhaps that will help my cause.

Trash Day (Almost)

First break, 8:30 am:

I’m on my first break from loading crap from around my yard and buildings into the courtyard for pick-up at 3:00 by Vanessa. She’ll be able to back right up to it. I’ve done about an hour-and-a-half of work; “slow and easy,” is my mantra. When I’m finished, I’ll have three covered woodsheds (and no unwanted trash)!

I’m wearing running shoes. I’ve little choice. And I’ve tread on two nails already but I’m pretty sure I’ve had a tetanus shot. (My friend Mike died of Septicemia after doing the same thing.)

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Second break, 10:30 am: 

I have another mantra: “At least it’s not raining.” My back aches and my hands hurt and I have to help Vanessa lift it all again to get it into her truck later. Still … it’s rewarding to be striking a major item off my to-do list — and not just any item, but the last one on the list made when I moved in. 

Ridding myself of the renovation shite and stuff left by previous owner is hugely satisfying. I’ve finished one woodshed, done half of another and none of the third and I sill have half the studio renovation detritus to add to the pile.

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Third break, noon: 

I’ve slowed down. The courtyard has filled up and so now I'm saving some of the wood to use as kindling in the winter. But there's order now; the wood I’m saving is sorted by size and bundled. The lot is incredibly tidy and I'm glad of it even though the newly ordered areas are out of sight of guests. 

Vanessa arrived at three to find much more stuff than she anticipated so we’ve re-scheduled for Wednesday morning at 9:00 am. I was fine with the change; I was pooped and happy to not have to load her truck and tomorrow I can finish hauling out the rest of the stuff.

I’ve worked hard today and deserve the pie I’m going into town to get.