Over the last week my focus has shifted a little from exploring beaches and tide levels to spending time closer to home, to be exact my thoughts have circled around the backyard. It is in great need of attention!
When we moved in January I marveled at the great view to enjoy any time of the day and at night. I sipped my coffee watching tide levels and the light conditions change. I could not get enough.
While it was wonderful to move into a house with a brand-new septic system, the mess that presented itself after the snow melted is less than appealing. We put the word out in the community that we are looking for someone who would like to earn some extra income and assist with the landscaping of our backyard. That call for help has yielded no response.
Enough is enough, I could not bear the overgrown weedy mess any longer. Rocks, dandelions on steroids, wild strawberries and a multitude of other fast growing weeds have finally got the better of me. We found a decent new-to-us lawn mower at a garage sale last Friday. It was like Christmas when I finished mowing the front yard!
I just wish the backyard was as easy to transform as this! I started pulling weeds but every time I take an armful to the large pile…
… I turn around and feel as if a new dandelion plant sprouted right next to where I pulled the last. The yard is vast and at times feel overwhelming. I won’t even mention the sneaky blackflies that have had a hay day sucking my blood. You don’t feel them at work but you know they have been enjoying themselves when you wake up the next morning and your eye has swollen shut, turning blue and your chin looks like you had a tooth extraction the day before. Oh the joys of gardening… I have never really been passionate about yard work in the past but things are changing. Feeling particularly frustrated and almost defeated I sank to the rocky ground I spotted a tiny red dot a few inches away.
The tiny wild strawberry provided me with new hope! If a strawberry can grow here competing for sunshine and nourishment then I can make a difference in how this backyard with be transformed. It will take time, it will take even more energy and perseverance and a whole lot of elbow grease, but I am determined to make the space as inviting as I can.
Just like any creative exploration I need to start somewhere. The reality of creative life is that there is never enough time and space, and conditions are never perfect. Our lives are always full of never-ending lists of things to do that fill our time and separate us from the work we know we should be doing… I do need to invest in some decent gardening tools… the household scissors I was using for trimming around the edges, cutting back the tall grass and even help me dig into the rocky soil to extract a particularly stubborn dandelion root just don’t cut it. Somehow our old gardening tools didn’t make it into the moving container last September. I think I will get myself a trimmer when I go to town next time. Meanwhile I am dreaming of the view and the oasis I want to create.
Send me some energy as I trim grass, pull weeds and battle the blood-thirsty flies!
Best wishes! May your summer months be filled with warm sunshine and colour, Anna
Fundy Contemplations... 
It is my observation that the black flies don’t bother those born and bred here. It is us “come from away” who seem to attract them and suffer nasty bumps and scares. . The weeds will be of a variety never seen before and they are like fabric scraps, hatch over night. Ten years and I still spend more time pulling weeds than planting flowers.
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Oh, I didn’t really want to hear this… I was told that one gets used to this and does not swell up like crazy as the years pass.
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