More Raking

I finished raking half the yard and spread it with pelletized lime yesterday. And, I succeeded in creating a lovely meditation space for myself under the Camillia trees. It is so cozy under there, I left a green resin chair in front of some branches with vine fronds running vertically through them. The spot reminds me of Buddha sitting under The Tree of Life. When I started cutting branches a few years ago to reveal the space under these trees, I thought it would be a really cool space for little kids to play and hide. Little did I know until yesterday, that I was creating this space for the little girl in me.

This stand of mature Camillias is about thirty to forty feet high. They are a combination of single and double-bloom red, single-bloom white, and a varigated single-bloom deep pink. I cut a bouquet of them once a week for the kitchen table and the living room. They were Marilyn's favorite. We bought this property from Marilyn and Fred eight years ago, and passed papers on Fred's eight-fourth or fifth birthday. We brought him a cake to the closing. He teared up. It was very sweet.

When we visited Marilyn and Fred in Assisted Living, and when she was moved to the nursing home, I always brought her a big bouquet of "her" Camillias. They always made her smile and made her day a little brighter. She was very disappointed and unhappy with her body. She told me at our first meeting that she was "as active as you are now. Don't let yourself go here." When we first met, she found it difficult to walk without the support of a cane. The cane became a walker, then a power wheelchair, then she couldn't leave her bed. She was very unhappy, so when she finally "passed" at about eight-eight or nine years old, I was happy she no longer suffered. And, when I get lazy about exercising, I hear her words loud and clear in my head. "Don't go there". OK, Marilyn. Thanks.

I get a rest day from hard labor today too because it is raining. The fog is rolling in on the lake and the light has turned an eery light gray. The birds don't care about rain though. We've counted three Cardinal pairs, numerous chicadees, sparrows and black birds. They're queuing up in the Dogwood tree to get their turn on the feeder, and have now happily found the suet feeder in the same tree. The concrete angel-sculpted birdbath sits at the pink Dogwood's base.

Larry and I were just commenting that we haven't seen any Blue Jays for a long time, and none this year. Not a half hour later, Larry spied one on the feeder and I saw its mate on the ground pecking happily under it. Word travels fast in the aviary world.

Well, while Larry tries to get our new printer talking to this laptop, I'll be off to the laundromat. I can't wait until we can have a washer and dryer here at The Lakehouse.