The call of the yard work
It began with the walnuts. Most of them had fallen from the tree and we needed to gather them. Most of the leaves had fallen from the tree as well. The walnuts were hiding in the leaves, so we needed to rake to find all the nuts. We also needed to rake in order to find the grass so that Kiki could mow it one last time. Four kids, four rakes, 90 minutes, then there was jumping. But that was not the end for me. I swept off the deck, scraped piles of debris into the garbage, cut down dead sunflowers, pulled weeds, and chopped back the lawn that was attempting to overgrow the path to our front door. One job led to another until finally I paid attention to the fatigue and aches of my body. My brain was having fun and wanted to keep going, but I needed to stop. It felt good to get out and work. It felt good to know that my garden is a little better prepared for the coming snow of winter. Tomorrow there will be rain. There will be rain for the next several days. But the weather may be good again next Saturday. If it is, I’m headed outdoors again. I haven’t been a gardener often enough lately.