I really like the way my backyard looks right now. I don’t want to be prideful about my gardening efforts, but damn! Anne and I have worked hard recently to landscape the damn thing, and it just looks great.
I’ve been writing pretty much non-stop since I got out of bed today. When I get stuck, or just need a break, I look out the window and stare into the yard, so my conscious mind can take a walk and let my creative mind do its thing. My lawn, which through a combination of mowing, feeding, and 38 inches of rain in the last several weeks is lush, thick, and a beautiful greenish blue. Ferris and Riley can usually be found chasing each other across it, though right now they’re both sleeping under my desk. Ferris has her head on my foot and whenever I try to move it, she grunts at me and wags her tail. Riley is blisfully unaware of anything, sprawled out asleep on her back like a cat. My orange tree, which I agressively pruned a back in January, is covered with blossoms, and a light breeze keeps pushing their scent through my open window. Two hummingbirds just buzzed past. Cool.
I have several bird feeders that hang all over the place. Most of them have a basic seed mixture (yeah! 3 bucks at the pet store for 20 pounds!) but one of them is this sock filled with some spiffy stuff called Nyjer seed that is like crack for finches. That sock is so covered with birds I can’t even see it! All of my other feeders are also heavily populated with sparrows as well, and it seriously sounds like I’m renting office space in an aviary.
There’s some tree-trimming going on in my neighborhood, so the not-entirely-unpleasant drone of distant chainsaws underscores the bird’s singing. For some reason, the sound of yard work always makes me feel secure, and brings to mind happy childhood sense memories that I can’t see, but feel nevertheless.
Anyway, I’m putting this all down right now because someday I’ll read through my archives, see this, and remember exactly what this moment felt like.
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The fact that it is -15 in Toronto right now makes me angry… very angry…
How about you put your photoblog to work and show us some pictures of this virtual Eden you’ve created in your backyard?
One more day to Walter!!!
Yes, I agree! Show us some pics. š I am about to go and use my phone cam to capture some beautiful snow scenery here in New England, and I can relate to the blissful, and tranquil feelings nature gives you. It is heaven for our senses.
now if you would just say honeysuckle on the back fence – that would be perfect
I’m in the process of putting up a trellis along one side & the back fence – we will have honeysuckle, Jasmine,blackberries & grapes all on it. & thanks for reminding me to get more bird feeders/houses to go on it
Wil,
Sounds peaceful š Thanks for sharing.
Tim in NorCal
MMm, orange blossoms. I used to have a lemon tree in my back yard, and can well remember that fine scent drifting into open windows in the springtime. Miss that, now that I’m not in California anymore.
I really like the way my backyard looks right now, too, but when the snow melts, there’s gonna be a heck of a lot of dog crap lying around!
Now its snowing in Toronto. Wil my envy for you continues to grow
That sounds lovely. Great entry. I can visualize/hear/feel it all.
Yes, photos!
Sounds like our birds won’t want to come back north in a few weeks.
Ordinarily, I’m also inclined to equate the sounds and smells of yard work with a feeling of general well-being.
However, I loaded and unloaded about a gabillion pounds of top soil and fertilizer today in preparation for garden work, so Mother Nature and I are having an off day. I’m sure we’ll make up soon.
I think I shall go see if I can find some of that finch crack. I like finches.
As I read that post, I could almost hear a gentle pan flute, twinkling bells, and crap like that. (-;
I’m intrigued. I would like to see this sock bird feeder you speak of.
Ah what can I say… this is delightful. I can totally relate…I love birds, and feeding birds, and should I ever have a house, I want a lovely little garden as well. It’s adorable to imagine you and Anne as gardeners… and yes, gardening is such a relaxing thing to do… gets you back to your roots, somehow.
The ‘crack for finches’ bit totally made me giggle. Could just picture it.
You have described bliss to a “T”, including the “companion animals”. It’s knowing that days like this are ahead, even here in the frozen North, that keep me from a expressing my frustration in a “postal” form.
We love Nyger seed around here. Unfortunately, this far north, we only have finches in the summer, so we still have 2 months to go. š
Thanks Wil. You really made me smile today. It sounds a lot like the home I remember from my childhood and it’s a breath of fresh air for me as I type this stuck in my office cubicle.
I have to admit I only used to occasionally stop by to read your blog, but lately I’ve become something of a regular reader and I look forward to seeing the next post. It’s just really refreshing to get to know you as a real person. This TV celebrity is also someone I feel like I’d enjoy just hanging out with and geeking over video games or chatting about everyday mundane crap.
It’s cool to feel like, had fate played just a little differently, you and I might’ve been buds.
Anyway, enough mushy crap. Bottom line, great blog man. Thanks. š
Heh… FeedBurner and Amazon think that the related link for this post is a limited issue DVD of The Little Mermaid. I guess they’re still working on that algorithm.
Hmmm…arch trellis somewhere…covered in blue Morning Glories (just don’t eat the seeds…). Oh, and pear trees are great. They’re the only tree I can think of that produces exquisite fruit even when the damned thing is dry rotted almost the whole way through. As a matter of fact, the pears when the tree isn’t doing so well are better. I know soft skinned fruit is hard to keep the yellow jackets away from, but it’s not that hard. Just reserve a corner of the yard to leave the pears you don’t really want (the kinda yucky ones) to “compost”. Basically, for the yellow jackets to eat so they’ll leave you the hell alone. And whatever’s left should be good to bury to help stuff grow later. Spraying works, but then you have to deal with knowing that you and your pets are soaking in poison which has a sole purpose of destroying nervous systems…Ever watch that CSI where the parents drugged their kid and baked him in the car because they thought he had Tay-Sachs (like their first kid)? He had pesticide poisoning…stay away from that stuff if you can, seriously…