With spring’s garden work, my joints ache in the morning. By the time I finish my daily exercises and 30-minute walk on the state park trail, the ache subsides. I wouldn’t change anything, yet have to wonder how many more years I can continue tending the large garden we have. That’s not a question for today as I don my overalls and prepare to dig yet another plot. It is a question for the near-term future.
This week’s focus was on getting the tomato plot planted. I spent much of Tuesday clearing the ground of collected fencing, ground cover, and other things stored temporarily. Then, I mowed the tall weeds, being careful to avoid mowing the large toad who had taken up residence. I encouraged it into the fringe area where I left the grass tall. No toads were harmed in this operation. Next comes spading the ground, applying fertilizer and soil conditioner, then rototilling.
The other limiting factor is the unseasonably warm ambient temperatures. On Wednesday morning, the forecast was for a high around 90 degrees. I have to pace myself as the heat index climbs. In earlier days, when I would work in the hot sun for hours at a time, I relished the sweat as it poured off my brow. Being older has me realizing at some point, I need to shut myself down and head indoors to the cooler temperatures. That has usually been a matter of how I feel. Septuagenarians pay attention to that.
This coming weekend is my last filling in for Blog for Iowa author Dave Bradley as he moved his family back to Iowa from Indiana. I don’t know what I will do with the extra time. The older I get the more I discover there is always something waiting for my attention.
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