So far I have been successful at keeping my garden cleanup sessions to reasonable timeframes that don't leave me too stove up to work the next day.
It's a sad fact of life at this advanced stage of my life. I remember in my youth the thrill of tackling some huge job in one long day of blitzkrieg, frog march, take no prisoners style and sitting back watching the sun set on whatever miraculous transformation I had just accomplished, feeling smug and cocky. Instead it's turtle and hare tale all the time now. And frankly the hare has given up on me altogether and moved on to try and tempt younger rubes.
Here are a few pictures from my garden...
Tidy:
Another tidy:
And one Untidy:
I think I solved my watering situation too. But I need to make an adjustment before I take any pictures of it in operation. I have found during this last year we have just been through that I have developed a very low tolerance for 'things that aren't working'. This does not mean broken things necessarily. It means anything in my world that causes irritation or frustration. I have learned to focus my attention on it and force myself to think deeply about it and wait for a solution to present itself. It's been working very well! It could be as simple as moving a piece of furniture, or as daunting and possibly foolhardy as overhauling your entire garden strategy.
I won't lie to you, sometimes these 'adjustments' are quite difficult to do. But the results are well worth the effort. For example, the other day I bought a piece of fabric at the second hand store to cover the desk here in my room. I needed to hem it just so to fit right to the edge AND not to cover a small rail that runs along the back. The entire time I was working on it, I didn't feel like doing it. I was cranky, tired, unmotivated, resentful of any small setback [there were several], and generally on the edge of throwing a tantrum. But I made myself finish the job. When I finally laid it out on the desk and smoothed it down, it was exactly as I wanted it to look. I did not compromise. Now when I look at it, I am glad I went to the extra effort because the last thing I need right now is one more upsetting, irritating, and out of balance thing in my life.
And lest you think I have gone full blown OCD, you can rest assured there's plenty of wonky stuff in my life. I'm just making note of the fact that the outside world is in such a state of chaos, I recognize that this is my response to it. I am in charge of this small corner of the universe. I'm going to try to make it as harmonious and pleasant as I can possibly manage. Even if I DO need to prod myself at times, and even though I am moving at turtle speed, I am not giving in to chaos.
After all, that slow turtle did win the race.
