Complicated - but there's always the garden!

Since my last post life has been complicated. 

I want my days to be like my bits and bobs around the house, neat, clean, organized, tidy and in top working order. Instead, these days, and past several weeks, I've been inundated with home projects, some planned, others nasty surprises, ranging from emergencies, to 'fix its' that are not actually broken but "let's do it now and be safe rather than sorry later".

I'm not going into the sordid details, just know nothing lasts forever in a home be it plumbing, electrics, roofs, outdoor structures, or even perfect gardens. Things age, wear out, break, disintegrate, fall off, blow away . . . . . . and even grow too big to manage, like 100 ft oak trees and 10 ft azalea shrubs. Who knew that taking down a tree that size might some day cost $5,000! Our biggest tree still stands and we say a little prayer when the wind picks up, wondering why the builder didn't clear the land before sitting our little house on it forty years ago. The azaleas we embrace and love their huge size with thousands of blooms right now.

As homeowners we sometimes turn a blind eye to maintenance issues, especially those of us who know very little about building and the length of time products last before dripping, cracking, corroding etc.  At times like this I wonder why I didn't decide to spend my life married to a plumber/electrician/sheetrock/painter/handyman. Even better a general contractor who could help out with everything in the home requiring attention and, with a snap of his fingers, have a reliable service person there with the right tools, a working pickup truck (that doesn't drip oil on the driveway!), who uses tarps and drop cloths and eventually fixes everything perfectly . . . . . . . and doesn't talk down to me or make me cry!

Are you getting the picture here?  

Yes, it's my garden and I love it. I sometimes complain wishing we could move to a new place with no repairs, less maintenance, no garden to weed, on one level with no stairs, no lawn to mow, no large trees to fall on us when the winds pick up . . . . . . . . . . .  and then I recall the months stretching into years of the pandemic and how having a garden perhaps saved my life.  All those days spent in the garden, on the front porch, back deck, away from the mosquitoes in the screened gazebo, were days I remember with love. The garden was my safe haven while the world was in turmoil.

Gardens here are at their peak of loveliness right now - the southeast brings a springtime where everything blooms profusely. It was my reason for moving here all those years ago when Bob's company flew me down to Raleigh in April 1977 for a weekend to look around - he was already working here - to see if I liked it and would want to make my home here.  I fell in love and had no doubts about living here . . . . . . . knowing immediately I would so enjoy having a real garden like I had in England as a child.

When a house is a home. . . . . . . . . . . .

We live in an aging cottage.  

Many things are looking tired on the exterior and we must make some decisions in the coming months to ramp up the maintenance plan.  Part of our problem has been traveling often and letting things slide. We still get the chimney cleaned every year, we burn a lot of wood all Winter, and safety comes first and foremost.

 Yesterday we had the deck power washed because I just couldn't stand looking it after so much rain and then torrid heat baking it all Summer. Weather conditions, and so many huge overhanging trees, had done a job on it, turning the golden wood dark and dreary, quite uninviting. Now it's bright and beautiful again, for a while! 

Then there are windows, high up on each side, and another reason a one story condo looks more and more inviting! 

Just so you know, Bob will get upset at that last sentence!

I so love to look out at the garden through sparkling glass. I can no longer hang out the second floor windows to work magic on grimy glass! I did this until lower back issues put a stop to such silliness. Right now I'm 'babying' my back so that I can head to Kenya pain free, hopefully managing those wonderful game drives on rough terrain without discomfort. Ladders, did I really hear you say that dreaded word. . . . . . . the piece of equipment we older gals and guys need to steer clear of. So the young pony-tailed power washing guy, with muscles and no fear of heights, was also given the window washing job!

We need to have some major tree pruning and drainage work done in the back of the house, and come next Spring there will be more exterior freshening and fixing. All shrubs close to the house will have to be cut down prior to exterior painting - a huge job I can't even bear thinking about.

Well, as they say, "that's life", let's face it, being a homeowner/gardener

 is not for the faint-hearted.