Okay ... this guy, Daryl McCormack, is my new imaginary boyfriend. He’s so gorgeous and so articulate, and that voice! That accent! I did eight storytelling performances for a network called The Flame. It was a Vancouver group modelled after The Moth which is the network for which Daryl did the story recorded above. We have something in common, my new boyfriend and me. I adore him.
•
The walk yesterday morning was lovely—so cool and refreshing. It’s so gorgeous in the mornings.
Then it was home to continue with the wood. I have more planting and weeding to do in one bed that really needs my attention, but I much prefer working on the wood. It’s so satisfying to do work that will benefit my cozy Winter life. I’m going to have lots of cut small branches with which to start fires, and lots of big chunks of wood for those days when I want a hot fire all day. And weed whacking the front of the yard that borders the road, really dresses up the approach to Pinecone Park.
I got the stand fan from the studio and plugged it in beside my desk where I sit on my breaks and pick Tent Caterpillars off my clothes. Oh, the coolness of the breeze feels good when I come in soaking in sweat and tired. The fan is the best rejuvenator!
By 11:30, I’d finished removing all the bucked pieces of the first tree. The pieces small enough to burn whole are stacked in the shed to dry. The pieces needing to be split, are stacked against the fence of my edible garden. Steve will pick up the splitter for me and bring it to the house. And he’ll show me how to use it.
I also had to rake the ground. I wanted to remove all the small twigs, the broken pieces of bark, years of Fir cones and other scrub, prickles and vines so that the ground is clean and will support the growth of Salal and Oregon Grape. Once the detritus had been removed and deposited in the forest, and the first tree all gone, I took a break by the fan. Heaven!
Then it was onto the second tree. I do enjoy the work. I also enjoy quitting time when I can read without guilt, having done a good day’s work. It was 28° by 1:00. I tired quickly but I made steady progress through the early afternoon. Some of the individual pieces of wood are mighty heavy for a guy with compromised use of his arms and hands. I learned to work with feet wide apart so that logs I dropped didn’t touch me as they fall from my hands. I’m always covered in bruises because of the hear medications I take, so I didn’t want any accidents—even very minor ones.
By 2: 30 I’d finished stacking the second tree. All that remained to do was to pick up and store two wheelbarrow loads of short branches, to move the long, big branches to the stack of wood that needs to be reduced to 14” pieces with the chainsaw, and to clean up the forest floor under and around where the second tree was. I decided that all the work not involving the large, chucked wood pieces, could wait for another day.
By far the worst part of working, was the ants. They are nasty little fellows that bite me and get into my gloves and clothes. There was a nest of them in two of the pieces of bucked wood.
I quit working at 3:00. I was hot, sweaty and thoroughly burned out. It was time to read and relax.
•
I’ve two writing assignments to do: one is for the clinic, drafting our communications plan for the approval of the board of directors, and the other is a second short essay for STAMMA the U.K. stuttering association.
No comments:
Post a Comment