bird watching

Today I went to the garden to do some gardening, and there was a hawk by the first pond, eating something. I gave it some space. An hour later when I walked by that pond again, it was still there eating, or maybe it was eating something new.

exhaustion II

Today P and I finished the Shiva mound for real. I made a commitment to come water every other day for two weeks, in hopes that will get our transplants through their vulnerable time.

P showed me how to work the sprinkler, and we pulled some privets. Then we helped J muck out a quantity of stinky dead plant matter at one of the ponds. "Where are my noseplugs?" I asked, and they talked about how their sense of smell isn't very strong anymore, now that they're old. I pushed and pulled heavy greenwaste cans. I fetched things. I got all muddy.

This evening much of my body aches, and I'm definitely not going tomorrow. P is going to organize the choir music binders and doesn't need help.

Tonight's the Marxism talk I wanted to attend, but Erik is hiking again, and maybe he won't be home in time. And maybe he'll come home with his own exhaustion.

exhaustion

I'm so tired from gardening today that I can barely stay awake. My back aches from the shovel. When I close my eyes, I see dirt. I dug twice as many holes as the other days. I had a lot of energy, for some reason. But now it's gone.

Soon I'll go to choir practice and sing until my lungs feel nice.

Anyway, here's my new desktop, a picture of mussels that Erik took yesterday that I deeply love.

winter in the garden

Today I dug lots of holes for more transplanting. It's fun to work with P because we talk while we work. Also, it's just a nice time of year in the garden: quiet, not hot, no mosquitoes. Just peaceful feelings in the afternoon light. I listen to roosters crowing in the distance, and squirrels scamper nearby. The plants we're working with I found boring at first, but I'm starting to see them as beautiful.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Erik did some really helpful cleaning while I was gone, and then I freecycled some old sewing books I'd had just sitting in the pile in the living room for months. It feels good to have them gone. I don't even sew--they were in with a bunch of books I got from another freecycler.

Now we're eating pasta with pine nuts. He's hiking again tomorrow with T at Pt Reyes, and they're going to look at tidepools.

It's been a dry, cold winter so far.