At My Place: Many Hands Make Work Lighter - & More Fun!

As I indicated last week, my two ESL students, Cecile and Sandy, both wanted to come help me to seed my garden. Sandy's twin teens, David and Sophia, who are 13 or 14, came too, and after a quick tour of my house and garden, the wall of books in the first room, and that my garden practically filled the whole back yard fascinated Sandy so much that she was snapping away, and exclaiming over everything.

I showed them to where I wanted to start and showed them how I rake over a patch to smooth out the ridges created by the rotortiller, then I used a hole to draw some lines freehand. Yes, two just inches apart, then allow a footpath space and two more. In no time David had taken up the rake, and Sophia the hoe, so I showed Cecile and Sandy how I poured rain water from a watering can into a row or two, sprinkled in some "Feed & Grow" for fertilizer, and then opened a seed packet or supplement bottle, and carefully sprinkled seeds into a row. Next, I needed the rake back to gently close the row, tap it down, then water it again.

I had drafted a list of the order in which we would sow my seeds, and because all four of my helpers were eager to "do something" I found myself busy checking my list, and getting the next seeds ready, which Cecile and Sophie eagerly seeded, David took on the closing of the rows and tamping them down, and Sandy found herself free to take lots more photos. (Which she has promised to send me; I don't have them yet).

So by default my role was to check my list, find the next seed in my handyman's canvas apron pockets, and opening it, ready to hand it to the next person ready to seed. Oh, and Sandy and Cecile also took time to fill the watering can from my rain barrel and come back to water the rows.

I believe we started some time after 10:30 am and by 12:30pm we were done.

Just about that time as we debated about the last 2 and half rows, which I sorted wanted to hold off until I'd emptied the big planter pots that I usually have on the steps to the back door. I wanted to dump out the old soil, mix it with the soil that had been freshly tilled, and then fill the pots again, so that I could sow my daintier flowers, like petunias there. We didn't get to that because my neighbour Rita came calling via the side gate, and brought me the two pepper plants that she had told me about on the phone. She had bought them, but didn't have room for them in her garden any more. So she offered to let me have one, if she could get the harvest from the other one.

I got them planted in a jiffy or two.

Well, it was definitely lunch time so I went in to get a sheet of the chicken strips and chunky, herbed potato wedges heated up in the oven, while I made up a blender full of fresh homemade yogurt with several hands full of frozen berries from a bag in the freezer. (9 types of berries!) That was our smoothee beverage. I had already made a big bowel of potato-egg salad, and sliced some cucumber and carrots for salad.

I'd bought a watermelon too, but left it for later.

My willing helpers were standing ready with their hands out to carry things outside for me. (2 of my old lawn chairs had broken webbing, so David and Sandy sat on the steps, and we enjoyed a delightful visit over the food.

When Sandy mentioned (close to 2 pm) that her kids had a swimming pool date at 2:30 I hurried inside to cut the watermelon and bring it out.

We had so many things to talk about that they didn't drive away until 2:15.

I did a bit of tidying up, and then crashed into my recliner for a nap. I'd been on my feet and on the go since before 10 am and my energy was all SPENT!

Later, in the evening I got to doing dishes and a bit of housecleaning, and eventually finishing off a new neck brace. But even on Sunday I felt like I was in slow-motion recovery-mode.

Now I'm roaring around with my busy agendas, and watching for small blocks of time to go weed and dig up soil near the fences, for sowing lots more flowers!

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