ENJOYING TIME WITH MOTHER NATURE
The first half of June has zoomed by. Mother Nature has
dominated my attention
since the last week in May, when we started planting seedling
trees. We had to wait until the frost danger was past so the baby
trees could have a chance to survive at this altitude of more than
7,000 feet.
Doug and I purchased 100 Ponderosa pine seedlings from a nursery
in Michigan, and we sheltered about 10 additional young trees in
my garage for about a month before we dared plant them. The red
maples and aspen trees were leafed out when we bought them. So for
a couple of weeks we were busy every day, digging holes, mixing
dirt and manure, and planting more than a hundred trees.
After two weeks most of our Ponderosa pine seedlings are looking
sad indeed. About 20 of the seedling trees look like they might
have a chance to make it. The rest have turned brown and look
dead. Doug lost two of his red maples and the larger one, which we
call the "Annie tree" (because I gave it to him for his
birthday) is struggling to survive. My red maple is
also struggling. It's possible we overwatered. Half our aspens are
doing well. All in all, our experiment with planting trees seems
to have failed, for the most part.
Today was our day to clean up our yards. Doug's yard required lawn
mowing and weed eating... the first manicure it's had since he's
lived there. He put into action his new electric Black & Decker
weed eater while I cranked up my self-propelled lawn mower and
groomed wherever I could. After four or five hours, the yard has
been transformed. His yard now looks better than my own!
We have enjoyed constructing Indian gardens in both our back
yards. We began with Doug's, a 10 ft. diameter circle that had to
be perfectly drawn and a compass used to mark true north and south
(obviously the mark of a true sailor!). Then Doug wanted to place
rocks at the corners of the four directions. It took us five days
to dig out his circle because we hit so many rocks. We put every
single rock and pebble back into the perimeter of his Indian
garden, and I must say, it looks impressive.
When we got around to digging my Indian garden, I wasn't as
particular as Doug. For one thing, we uncovered only a couple
dozen rocks out of my dirt. The digging was a whole lot easier,
and we were done in one afternoon. I didn't care about how
precisely my rock perimeter was either. Both our gardens are
planted now and we only hope we get some good tomatoes out of them
before the short season ends.
Working with Mother Earth is such a rewarding experience. I just
love getting outside when the weather is pleasant and sunny, and
working with the earth and all its beauty. There is a bird haven
in my backyard, beside the grove of large Ponderosa pine trees,
and the doves, the Stellar jays and the magpies all holler when my
black cat, Jessica, is in the vicinity. I'd much rather be out
doing this kind of work than cooped up inside at the computer.
That's what evenings are good for. Doug likes to sit at home in
front of his television, enjoying his solitude, and I take
advantage of the "down time" to do my work.
The next morning the sun comes out and we begin our new day. All
is well on Sundown Circle as we rush ahead toward July.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT my new column at the Denver Examiner, where you can find articles on Relationship Transition.
To place your order for Ann's new book, THROUGHOUT ALL TIME, click here.
E-mail Ann to leave a comment.