Thinking Back
It’s a sunny 64 degrees this afternoon and I am showered up from a morning of raking gardens and now am enjoying a can of Coke. It truly tastes like a treat.
Thinking back to last year on this day, Dennis and I would be returning home from the Mankato hospital with me having a new left shoulder that was 24 hours old. My, oh my, what a year I have had. In these last 12 months the left shoulder has healed, I had a lot of visits to the dentist, needed repairs on a torn retina in the left eye, and am encouraged in the mobility I am having since this January with the new right shoulder. Sweet!
Looking to the West with greenery being nonexistent.
These last several days Dennis and I have found ourselves in the thick of spring. Just seven days ago we were getting eight inches of heavy snow that did melt within several days. The sun coupled with low humidity winds did a great job of reminding us that perennials can pop up and out quickly. When we looked at the gardens, it was just one huge mass of grimy thick layers of Oak and Maple leaves that could be peeled off from the area, much like peeling an onion.
Could I man Dennis with a garden rake in order to help with the flower gardens? Not so much. I had a good blueprint in my mind as to where the plants were patiently waiting to be uncovered. I just could not risk having size 11 shoes snuff them out before they were given a chance. For me it was the best treasure hunt after a long winter. We decided I would rake the leaves out of the gardens onto the lawn and Dennis would mulch them with the riding lawn mower.
Grandson Jake’s garden is as far to the east that I have planted flowers. Jake was taken in an accident when he was 16 and Jake’s dad asked us to take the items that were given in memoriam to the young hunter, and thus the garden, including the flag that Jake loved when he moved to Minnesota from Alabama. Would it be our choice of a flag to fly? No. It will be replaced with a garden flag in time when it becomes tattered. Grandparents do what they can with family requests.
Good job done and Dennis is heading
back to the barn in the far back.
Though it took me three days to complete the raking, we are very pleased as we can now sit back and watch the plants as they appear. There is rain coming for tomorrow and that would just be the frosting on the cake. Each spring, as the snow is disappearing, Dennis and I do think on the amount of yard we have to take care of. It is just about an acre and a half that is kept very tidy. We thought about purchasing the vacant blue house to the east of us, but as long as someone comes and mows the grass several times a year it does help keep the neighborhood looking good. There will be a time when the far large car garage won’t be needed to store the mowers and the snowblowers. For now, it sure has been a handy building to keep extras, and who doesn’t need what I refer to as a “panic area”? Don’t know where to put it? Put it in the panic area until more can be decided.
A bit bleak now but sun and rain showers
will make a huge improvement.
As the temps get warmer I will be checking out to see what can be done to fill in the bare spots in the flower gardens. Winter kill is not uncommon, and though the labels tell us that plants are safe for Zone 4, I have found a few of them can also be mislabeled.
For as much enjoyment that we take from our yard and garage porch, the bit of work and exercise it takes is just what we need to stay independent, happy and content. Dennis is an early riser, and when I am awake enough to look out of the east window of the house and see him sitting in the rocking chair in the porch, it automatically brings a smile and I can’t wait to fill my coffee cup and join him. Breakfast comes a bit later, and if we can help it, nothing serious happens until after twelve noon. This is the life style on Stauffer Avenue. Thinking back I never thought much about retirement while I was working. I had no expectations. This is just plain sweet.