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.