Thursday, June 11, 2015

My Summer Vacation


Hubby suggested I take the summer off. Enjoy the outdoors and relax. Forget about writing the novel, editing short stories, and entering contests. He’s right. Cloistered in my downstairs office, I miss the beauty of summer.
 
SO FAR IT'S GREAT! Enjoying my early morning coffee on the deck. Meandering around the yard. Listening to the birds. Who knew they could be this noisy?! Going on fishing excursions. Sipping a cold beer in the shade. All good stuff. And since I can check facebook and PM friends on my tablet, I don’t need my laptop.
 
I admit I did experience writers’ withdrawal. Rather than prolong the suffering, I reached for my special journal…I say special because no one will read it until I’m…you know…gone.
 
Now retired, my husband’s taken over all the outdoor chores. He loves doing yard work. He even commandeered my flower gardens. He’s doing a great job.
 
Seventeen years ago, our property was a blank canvas. We planted hundreds of trees and bushes and built flower gardens—sun gardens. The trees have since grown. Only one true sun garden remains and the  vegetable garden is shrinking. Soooo…major reconstruction in progress. Each time I hear the buzz of the chainsaw I get a twinge of sadness as large sun-loving bushes are put out of their misery. Forsythias, nine bark diablos, purple leaf sand cherry, burning bush…gone. But  in their place, I see a variety of hostas, ferns, oak leaf hydrangea, and colourful perennial shade flowers.
 
And Marv’s quite content to work without my able-bodied assistance this time around. Or maybe I’m not as able-bodied as the old days when we worked side by side. I grunt more when lifting fountain basins and patio pots. I’ve traded the cut-offs and work boots for orthopedic runners and floppy cotton sunhats. ( Just kidding about the orthopedic runners but I admit the sunhat is not very flattering.) Whatever… He prefers to putter on his own. It could be that he simply prefers peace and quiet. I’m not all that quiet.
This morning I had an urge to slink down to my office and…OH MY GOSH, I thought a gigantic bee was next to my ear but it was a precious hummingbird. Wow…where was I? Oh yes, I had the urge to write a blog post.
My husband said to enjoy the sunshine. I’m doing that as I write, though I could read the screen better in the shade of the Linden or under a Maple. A little rain umbrella helps somewhat.
 
Well, I think that does it. I’ll post this entry, pour another coffee, and grab my pruning shears. There are two ailing standard pines destined for the fire pit. Maybe I can make them look well enough to grace our front steps for another year.