Yay Spa!

I had my first spa since the accident yesterday, and oh it felt good. I kept my damaged arm out of the water. And then I was out watering at 7:15 yesterday morning. It’s such a comfortable time of day to water, and the plants get a good long time to soak it up before the hot sun hits the garden beds. And once I was done, I took Her Highness for our morning walk. Then it was home to rake and tote.

I have guests coming for dinner on Saturday. It’s likely to be a cloudy day, but I’m hoping they will want to see my garden, and I’m thrilled to have had so much time of late to tidy the entire yard in advance of their visit. They are four women with whom Sheba and I walk three times a week.

Watering: I thoroughly watered the beds yesterday morning. I decided to time myself. I did the front bed, the trees in the front yard, the edible garden beds and vines, and the four beds around the courtyard, plus some of the shrubs in the backyard that I can reach with the front-yard hose. All that took an hour and a half.

The beds under the trees, the backyard fruit trees and shrubs, the fern garden, the bed by the back gate and the moss lining the walkway I do with the backyard hose. Doing all that took 45 minutes, so the total time to water the garden was 2.25 hours. It always feels very, very good to do the watering early in the morning because I have the rest of the day for other yard chores.

It was a bright morning with ideal temperatures (19°), but there were lots of this clouds that dimmed the harshness of the sunlight. Our morning walk was wonderfully comfortable, and when we got home, it was soon time for lunch and some chill time.

But it doesn’t take long for me to be itching to get back to work. I did some pruning, and then the raking and toting began. It’s work I’m rather sick of and that I find hard on my back, and it’s tiring. But having a tidy yard is very pleasing to the eye. Now that the weed fields have become dry, lifeless and brown, the garden beds jump out much more.

By noon, I was getting very excited because I saw the end of my raking and toting getting very close. I used the leaf blower to corral the bajillion growth caps into a pile, and that was the last tote of the day, taking it all to the dump behind the back fence. It was only 23° but I was sweating like a racehorse. 

At 14:30, I was done! All the raking and toting was done, everything was well watered, and I got the table up on the patio and four of the six chairs set up around it. I am ready for proper outdoor eating now. And after eight hours of working, I had done enough. I came indoors to washup and cool down before going for our afternoon walk with Sheba.

I was desperate for a cool shower, but I am hesitant to get my bandage wet. Instead, I had a cool sponge bath and felt much more alive. It was 28° outside, and in the sunshine, it felt intolerable. The air was still. That was part of the problem.

Although I get pooped and hot, I love doing the work. I love how great Pinecone Park looks right now. It will stay this way until the next big wind. In the evenings, on the chaise watching a movie, I feel no guilt whatsoever after working all day. We’ve one more hot day to get through today, then tomorrow, when I am next to do a thorough watering, we are predicted to have rain for two days, and then several cloudy days. Hurrah!!!

For some reason, my arm is hurting me. I probably overdid it with all the raking and toting, but that is over so today should be far less painful. We shall walk with our friends this morning, and then I shall fertilize many of the plants in all the beds today. Plus, I’ll spot water because it’s going to be hot today.

Just Another Day

On Sunday, following my accident, I had zero interest in doing any yard work, so it was a huge relief to feel up to working again yesterday. First, however, we walked with our friends after I tidied up the house.

It was very warm during our walk, so we are going to start walking half an hour earlier starting tomorrow. I had no pain in my arm, and I used it all day. I’m not going to change the bandage yet. I don’t want to risk making it bleed. When we got home, I chatted briefly on Zoom with David (who lives in London, UK) and then Pinecone Park’s legitimate residents had lunch.

After lunch I got busy with raking but no toting. It was very hot, so after raking the detritus in the largest weed field at the far end of the lot, I needed a break in the nice cool house. I had a good rest before logging into a Zoom call with Aidan and Darren from BC Emergency Services. Now comes writing our course that all paramedics in BC will be advised to take as part of their professional development. The course will educate people about stuttering and advise them on how to best communicate with dysfluent people. I’m very excited about what we are doing, and I’m very proud to be part of the effort.

Today I will tote, assuming my arm can sustain the work. But first, a thorough watering must be done. I spot watered yesterday, so today it’s the big drink for my flora. Tomorrow, I will work on the courtyard if I don’t do it today, and then I can finally get to spreading fertilizer around.

I lent Ursula, my lovely neighbour, the car to go to her doctor appointment, so Sheba and I walked the trail at the end of our street. It was f’ing hot yesterday. It gets too hot to work after noon. It’s times like yesterday that I really appreciate how cool my house stays.

At 16:00, all of us on the north end of the island lost our Internet. I was relieved to find it restored this morning,

When I went to bed, the temperature was down, but it was still mighty warm. It was 25° at 20:00, and it’s not much cooler this morning. I’ll be watering, raining and toting today.

Accident!

Yesterday began well….

The absolute silence, the evocative Summer fragrance of dry grass, the solitude, the wonderful warmth of morning sun that hits horizontally and reveals things often missed when the sun is high, and the wonderfully refreshing coolness of the shade; I love early morning walks with Her Highness.

I watered yesterday morning from 6:30 to 8:30, then we went on our walk. When we returned, we chilled until it was time for me to join my BC stutterers support group on Zoom at 10:00. It thought that it be my last session with them. I’m disgusted with some decisions of CanStutter, the Canadian national stuttering association. They will not help SPACE survey the people on their mailing list. Their decision is illogical, paranoid, and petty. And as out support group is a service of CanStutter, I’m conflicted.

I voiced my discontent and explained at length why, and I found everyone in sympathy with me, so I shall stay in the group and we will work together to change the leadership at CanStutter.

When I finished talking with the group, it was lunchtime for us all, and then I got to raking and toting. I was keen for it. I wanted to get a lot done, so out I went. I got a fair bit done and then decided to have a brief rest in the hammock. What a disaster that turned out to be.

I sat on the hammock, and I was instantly flipped out head over heels, and on my way to the ground, my arm hit the metal frame that supports the hammock, and it peeled a 4” X 2.5” piece of skin off my arm.

My immediate concern was turning off my watch which was trying to call 911 for help. Finally, I got it to stop, but then I wondered how I was going to bandage so big a wound. I had only normal band aids at home and the pharmacy was closed. I wanted something to protect my arm that didn’t stick to the wound, so I drove to the paramedic office and two lovely gentlemen, Arlo and Brent, bandaged me up and showed me how to rebandage myself. They gave me supplies with which to maintain my laceration.

It didn’t really hurt until I got home, then it settled unless I flexed my arm and then I’d get intense pain. The rest of my day was spent on the chaise in the lovely cool of the house. I slept and kept my arm in a sling so that it could rest and not move.

Last night it was not easy to sleep. I couldn’t sleep on my side with the damaged arm, and I’d move in the night and wake myself with pain. But I’m exceptionally happy to report that it feels much, much better this morning.

It’s a beauty of a day, and there is good news in the forecast. Environment Canada is predicting a cloudy day on Thursday, and rain Thursday night and Friday. Oh my God, I hope that proves accurate. Regardless, it looks like I’ll get a break from constant watering come the end of the week.

Blue Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa caerulea)

Letter to Patty Hearst

Saturday got off to a great start. I love the day after I’ve thoroughly watered all the garden beds. I’m under no pressure to get busy right away with watering. Instead, I focused on the house interior washing floors, beating rugs outside, thrashing the compost, cleaning toilets and some windows, doing laundry and vacuuming. And when all that was done, I noticed that the wind had stopped. Finally, I could apply the second coat of stain to the deck. So that’s what I did.

I’ve lots of energy first thing in the morning, so I kept going. I fixed the lock mechanism on the front door, put a new latch on the screen door, and then, as walking time approached, I did something I love to do. I shot myself up with Tezspire.

By 9:00 I was done and ready for our morning walk, and when we were finished, we went into the village to shop. Saturday morning is an excellent time to shop at Nester’s because everyone is at the farmers’ market. When I got home, I washed another floor, hung up the laundry, sorted the recycling and then fed the pets. It was 11:00 when I stopped to watch a vlogger I love before heading out to Silva Bay. At 11:00 I’d already walked 7,500 steps.

I drove to Silva Bay and discovered that the entire south end of the island had no power, so the food truck was closed. Dan and Steve arrived and we came into the village to eat at Ground Up instead. We had a good short visit, and then Sheba and I came home. I did just a few chores. It was 19° but it was very cool in the shade. In the sunshine, it was wonderful, but I was not into doing more raking and toting. It can wait.

Instead, I had a spa and then we went for our afternoon walk. It was short as Sheba gets overheated if we walk too far in the afternoon. When we got back, I did some spot watering of plants showing signs of wilting, and then it was time for our supper and a movie. 

Life is so, so good!

No, it’s even better than that. It’s fucking heaven living in Pinecone Park. Now that drought conditions have set in, I must water every plant thoroughly every second day. On days when I don’t do that, I must spot water where water is needed. 

If I was rich, I would upgrade my water system to increase the pressure, and I’d install an automatic watering system. Although I’m not rich, I have two hands and two long hoses, I’m home every day, and I monitor the beds as I water and again at night. When I’m not watering, I’m raking and toting, bed cleaning/tilling, picking the fruit (blueberries are labour intensive—taking brown tips off, de-stemming), and weed whacking.

Just as getting a dog means taking on a lot of daily walking, my garden demands responsibilities. I am more that rewarded by the pleasure I get from being in it, particularly in the evening and even more now that I have a hammock. Oh my god, I love the hammock!

It’s like when I was a kid and I would be outside in the yard all day. I did the gardening. Don and Connie had no interest in the garden. I even felled a tree, just as I do here. Full circle, and like that kid, I feel safest here in my yard. I love being outside all day and working. Today: 12,000 steps. Every day I’m over ten thousand.

I don’t need to make any decisions. I just get up and follow the watering schedule and work till mid-afternoon. I get started by 8:00. If I didn’t have this garden, I would not be nearly as active as I am. I’d be reading. In Vancouver, I did long-distance (for me) walking. I’d walk twelve to twenty kilometres and then take the bus home. That’s how I filled my days (if it wasn’t raining).

•

I’ve finally written to ask my friend Nancy if she would help me get a letter to Patty Hearst. I believe she has a connection. Ms. Hearst had an enormously positive impact on me when I was young. All my life, I defended Don and Connie. All my life I protected them. I remember asking Dr. S. in our first or second meeting not to speak ill of them.

That has all changed. D. S. and I are aligned in our thinking. I’m extremely disappointed in them. I have changed my surname and emotionally disowned them. I call them Don and Connie now. I think of them as my captors with benefits.

P.S. I wrote this last night. When I read it this morning, when I got to the end, I felt a rush of sympathy for D&C. Dr. S. says that is not uncommon in neglected children.

•

Today: My Day. Maybe tacos at Silva Bay. Watering, and lots of it, and hopefully, some rakin’ and totin’. Today there is a BC Stutterers support group meeting. but I’d rather be working outside. I’ll decide whether or not to attend when it comes time to log in.

The h=enormous Ocean Spray bush is blooming. This one gives me
privacy from Dave and Ursula's home.

The plumbs are growing!

Same with the apples.

After dinner, I go out to pick and eat raspberries.

I've a decent blueberry crop coming.

The Butterbur; me for scale.

Don and Connie were not gardeners. I did the gardening and
we had wonderfully fragrant 'Pinks" (Carnations) growing.
I'm glad to have them here in my garden.

Every year, I get a large clump of Campions growing
somewhere on the property.

Above and below: two gorgeous Hostas.

Another Ocean Spray. They are deliciously fragrant and they
grow wild all over the island.

These perennial Geraniums are spectacular. I have several
growing in Pinecone Park.

Just one small branch of my Climbing Hydrangea
has variegated leaves.

The colour of this small Geranium is stunning in real life.

This fucshia plamd osis huge and full of blooms.

A favourite fucshia.

Thihs geranium is four years old. I look after it through the Winter every year.