I decided that I should go outside and do some work in the yard but I left it a bit late in the day to start work. I, by nature and age, am a very lazy person when it comes to getting up early in the morning. Being retired for almost 20 years, I have learned that I can pick and choose when I actually do whatever it is that I have in mind unless it is an an emergency of course like something to do with the ponds, and then I might have to rush around for a bit. Otherwise, if I can’t or am too lazy to do whatever it is today, there is always tomorrow or the next day.
This approach has served me well over the years and now as I am growing older and slower, is now my primary way to do things. I keep up with things pretty well including mowing the small areas of grass that I have. One of the problems that has arisen this year is that things have taken off like a rocket and have not stopped growing even after several trimmings. I have never seen a year like it in terms of growth as it really is phenomenal. I am out in the yard a lot as there is a lot to take care of with 3 large ponds and a couple of hundred Koi and Goldfish and Oh Yeah, don’t forget the turtles of which there are probably more than a dozen including Clarence the monster and Herbert, the adoptee.
I decided that I really needed to trim back the walkways as they were really growing over with the aforementioned growth but as usual, I left it a bit late to get outside. By the time I was ready to work, it was almost 1:00 pm and the temperature was already in the mid 80’s on its way to at least 90 degrees. This, after all is Texas where temperatures of 100 degrees or more are the norm in the summer. So, I bravely stepped outside and lined up all of the tools that I would need for this project, cutters, rake, diamond hoe and my trusty 100 year old pitchfork, a hand me down from another age and time. Incidentally, I broke the long handle on this tool a couple of months ago when I used it to kill what I thought was a Rattlesnake that was harassing the dogs or was that the other way around? I don’t usually kill snakes as long as they are not venomous, preferring to move them along out of harm’s way but this one caught me by surprise and I reacted. Rather poorly as it turns out as instead of a Rattler, it was a common brown water snake of which there are at least two that live around the ponds. Ironically, this action caused me to break the long handle on the pitchfork which I had to spend time repairing although not as good as new. It’s days may be over unless I can devise a way to install a new handle. Maybe Nature has a way of repaying me for my murderous deed.
I worked for about 30 minutes growing hotter and more sweaty by the minute until I finally said to myself, “To hell with this, I’ll get up early tomorrow, rearrange my normal schedule and get out to work early.” With those thoughts wringing in my ears, I immediately downed tools and retreated to the outdoor couch in the shade to sit down and cool off. To think that when I first arrived in Texas, I was a Construction Superintendent working out in the sun for 8 hours a day and now I can’t last more than 30 minutes. Age and need has a lot to do with it as back then, I was a lot younger and needed to work for a living. The joys of retirement only come very late in life and most of us spend at least 2/3rds of our life working for the man.
Will I make good on my threat to get up early and get out there and do this work. Who knows. We will just have to wait and see. Actually, there is not a great deal to do and a good solid hour should take care of it. No good looking at the weather forecast as we are already close to the summer season and it will only get hotter for the next 3 months. After all, this is Texas.
Written 6/30/2020
