The Perfect Life: 61F and In the Garden at 8 Am

I think that if I had a perfect life I would garden for a hour or so every morning 5 days a week 9 months out of the year.  In the hot months I would be in the pool exercising right after.  In the cool days it would be riding. Then I would make art. In the evening I would enjoy my yard and share it with family and friends at least once a week. Maybe play a game or just talk. Perhaps grill and/ or make homemade ice cream. One day a week I would travel to yard sales, flea markets, antiques malls to practice and enhance my picking skills. Or perhaps go out just to photograph to keep my work fresh with new ideas.

Its not a perfect life.. yet.  Family is too far away and don’t visit very often. Most of my friends are busy with the struggles of life. I haven’t been able to get out into the yard since sometime at the beginning of March when I was told I had Peripheral Vascular Disease. ( I'm leaving out the scary parts)Going out to photograph for any length of time is very limited due to the cost of gas. I used to go out at least twice a month.  It was the same with traversing the countryside to enhance my picking skills.

I did get out in the yard this morning. It was not very long and not very much. I watered plants.  I cut down a very rebellious polk plant growing in the flower bed in front of my deck.   I reclaimed my aloe plant, only to discover that in addition to weeds there was also a colony of little black ants residing in the pot. That will be dealt with at another time. I still feel like the little pests are crawling all over me.

My main goal, however, was the Rosemary plant. I was able to have at it the first year I moved in. There were two there. I actually cut it back so far that one of them died. Had I not done it, the plants would have grown so large they would have taken my entire parking place and cut off the water faucet from the rest of the world. As it is, the remaining plant has simply taken over the slate walkway. It was indeed inching its way toward the parking space.

Worse there was a tree growing out of the middle of the plant that does nothing but produce leaves . I haven’t any idea where on earth that one came from. And because it was so cool this morning I managed to make a start on it.  Thanking God for that opportunity.  I might be able to do small amounts all week as the temperature will be going down to the mid to low 60s evey night this week. So early mornings are going to be awesome.

I admit I was tired when I came in and my legs throbbed a bit. But oh how my muscles loved it. And my breathing was awesome. It’s like I was charged with deep breathing and O2. Maybe I need to consider moving some place that has temps in the 60s year around. Is there a place like that? I haven’t a clue.

I would miss Virginia too much. There is so much variety, color, and so many trees.  I love it here. I can stand on my deck and look through the trees to the west on any day and see the Blue Ridge Mountains.

There are horses everywhere around here and rolling green pastures.  I love it. It’s not completely perfect in circumstances, well that’s just life. Not a bad one at that.