I awoke very early, before first light. Those early hours were a time of quiet contemplation. Challenges, confusion, these are a bigger part of my life right now than peace, contentment and harmony. And yet, lying there in the quiet hours before the light crept into the room, what I mostly felt was acceptance. Acceptance that life is not what I want it to be, what I hoped it could be. Acceptance that challenges and confusion are about movement, the forces of the universe moving in their mysterious ways. No one, no matter how powerful they may be in the society of humans, controls the powers of the universe. Right now, most of what I feel is confusion, not pain, which is a step forward I believe.
What a glorious day! The sun shone brightly all day long, the temperature slowly rose to 15C. The wind blew hard, then settled into an intermittent breeze. Birds sang, squirrels performed acrobatics in trees, rabbits rested and nibbled on morsels in our yard, but not the garden.
There were so many choices on a day like today. Attila suggested going to Rideau Camp, I suggested getting started on the garden here at home, and in the end we stayed here at Mist Cottage.
Attila worked on his garden, digging out the composted soil from the rough compost at the back of the yard, and the compost bin, then adding it to expand the garden plot. Columbines that had grown beside the back step moved from that precarious position to well prepared beds along the fence and in the front yard. Lavender, planted where there was too much shade, was transplanted to a sunnier location.
I spent the day on the ladder, beside Iris the trailer. It took all day to apply the marine wax to the roof. The middle of the roof is tricky, it will not bear my weight, and the reach to the middle is long. To wax the middle section of the roof required standing on the next to top rung of the ladder. Oh so carefully I would ascend the ladder. Oh so carefully I would position my feet on that narrow rung, then lean and lean and lean over to reach the middle of Iris’ roof. Oh so carefully I would descend the ladder, then move it further along to the next section. In this way the entire roof received a well rubbed coat of marine wax. I must say, it looks great!
I stopped short of getting all the waxing done on the roof. The rounded back and front ends of the trailer are too high to reach from the ground, so perhaps tomorrow, or another weekend when Attila is around, I will finish that off. After that the rest of the job can be done standing on dear old terra firma.
The sun has disappeared for the day, slipping behind a few clouds before sinking below the horizon. It is 7:50 p.m. and still quite light out. Attila is still out in his garden. I am enjoying my easy chair, a well earned bit of rest.
Tomorrow, well who knows. Another day like today would not go amiss, weather permitting, that is certain!
Worldly Distractions
Weather
5°C
Date: 6:00 AM EDT Saturday 5 May 2018
Condition: Mainly Sunny
Pressure: 101.6 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 4.6°C
Dew point: 4.1°C
Humidity: 97%
Wind: SSW 9 km/h
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“Whenever evil befalls us, we ought to ask ourselves, after the first suffering, how we can turn it into good. So shall we take occasion, from one bitter root, to raise perhaps many flowers.”
Leigh Hunt
1784 – 1859
Leigh Hunt had an interesting life!
