Journal - In The Yard

Monday turned out to be just about the most gorgeous day I can imagine. It was sunny and warm with just a light breeze. Exactly the kind of day I had been hoping for to get some work done in the yard. I had several projects in mind that I wanted to get done so at 1pm I headed out and got to work.

First was the brush pile I had gathered at the incinerator a few days prior. I started that burning and then began to toss on limbs and trash from one of the other brush piles. I ended up getting that whole pile cleaned up and on the fire, which was a little more than I thought I would get done. That was the biggest brush pile I had so it’s good to have that done. Just one brush pile to go and it’s the smallest but also the furthest from the incinerator.

While that was burning, I got three potatoes from the kitchen and cut them into quarters and went out to the garden. I planted twelve of them and marked them with sticks so I would know where they were. I had forgotten to ask Mike how deep to plant so I hope I didn’t get them too deep.

My next project was a new flower bed for Joni. On Sunday, Bobbi had given Joni a big baggie full of Zinnea (sp?) seeds and I had a good spot picked out for them. In our back yard are two big trees fairly close together. A previous tenant here had surrounded the two trees with a rectangle of railroad ties and the space in between really needed something in it since nothing much grows there. So I got out the shovel and turned the soil, then raked it to break up the clods and smooth it out. Then Joni did the planting. While I was digging in there I discovered that the railroad ties are not planted as firmly in the ground as I had thought, and also that they are not as rotten as I thought they would be. That was good because two of them were sunk in almost flush with ground on one end and I wanted to put some dirt under them. After discovering that that would be a pretty easy job I went ahead and took care of it.

By then I was feeling pretty tired, but I still had one more thing I wanted to do. A couple of weeks ago, Mom gave Joni some hollyhock seeds. Joni planted a few here and there, and also put a few in the new flower bed I dug, but I wanted a row of them on the north side of our patio area. So I dug up the soil along that edge and put a row of them in. Then I gathered up some bricks, of which there are a lot scattered all around the place, and put a brick border along the outside edge.

By then it was nearly 4 o’clock and I was very tired and getting pretty hungry too. I went out and raked up the fire a bit. It was pretty much burned up by then and didn’t seem to be much of a threat. I put the rake, shovel, and hoe back in the shed and closed it up, then went inside and cleaned up.

After three hours in the sun I was worn out but felt great. My shoulders and neck were red again but that felt great too. I thanked God again and again for giving us such a beautiful day and for giving me one good eye to see and enjoy it with.

Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. ESV

Leviticus 26:3-4 If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.