Elder Cedars

Monday morning, I did chores, starting with a big clean of the porch which has become the exclusive domain of the Pinecone Park felines. Now that the porch roof leak is fixed, I could rearrange the porch layout. In winter, the barbeque goes inside there for winter barbeques and for when there is a power outage.

I set myself to cleaning up the last un-landscaped area of the yard—the part to which I’ll add soil and seed next year. I began by removing all the twigs and branches, bending and picking each one up—and every few minutes, I had to stop to remove the Spear Grass seeds from my gloves and socks.

The work was tiring, and my nose ran like a fire hose, but as the cleared area expanded, it looked fabulous compared to how it was (and dreadful at the same time, compared to how it will look when it is seeded). But the whole area will soon be nice and clean.

Exciting, eh? My life is a page-turner, I know.

But then I stopped clearing there. Instead, I started cleaning up my gardens and lawn. I removed all the twigs, cones and other bits of stuff that have fallen to the ground since my big Spring clean-up. I’m going to continue tidying the yard today so it’s clean for Dianne’s visit.

But I quit working late in the afternoon and had a spa. (God, I love that spa!) Then we went for a walk in the Elder Cedar forest. It was the second day in a row we’ve taken a happy hour walk in there. It’s a stunning place. See below.

Today, three cubic yards of enriched topsoil arrive for me to spread over the fruit tree area I cleared last week. I cannot believe how satisfying and enjoyable it is to do landscaping! 

And it seems to me, I fit right in. I see work in progress in almost every yard I pass in my neighbourhood. Everyone is old, like me, up early and out in the yard every morning doing yard work and chatting up neighbours who pass by. 

Sometimes the path was mostly Cedar roots.