Helping Mom and Dad Work

May 24 – I had mentioned in my last post that our son David had come out on Mother’s Day to help us get some tings done. Well, his first words when he arrived were, “Well, what do we do first?”

[ Tomato cages completed ]

“Let’s go out and work on the tomatoes,” I answered, “lots to do out there” After Dale had explained what needed to be done, David and I dug the dirt out of the circle around the tomatoes, digging deeply enough that when the rains came, the plant would be happy to receive a good watering, and the rain water would soak down to the roots of the plants. David worked on more than one-half of the plants, while I did the rest. Why are younger folks able to move around more quickly than their mothers?

Next came bundles of straw which the three of us broke up and placed around the base of the tomatoes. Then the final touch – we carried the big tomato cages from back in the corner of the compost heap, and Dale and David placed them around each plant, pushing down hard until the metal sank into the ground enough so the cage wouldn’t fall over during a storm. While I moved the remaining cages into the place where they will be through the summer and fall, David planted the green peppers, being careful to make sure the dirt around them wasn’t as hard as it had become during several bouts of heavy rain.

[ Dig, dig, dig]

Then we were off to the front lawn where the yucca plants have practically given up the ghost. Where we used to enjoy the huge yuccas with their beautiful white flowers, there is practically nothing except a very few new plants that hadn’t given up yet.

On the other side of that section were the beautiful pink coneflowers or Echinaceas. Since the area is on a pretty steep piece of ground, it has always been hard to work around those plants without sliding down the hill to the road. Since the yuccas are not doing so well, I thought it would be good to dig up the coneflowers and plant them in a row just below the lawn.

[ These things are tough to get out! ]

Poor David! I planned the move, but he was the one who did the job! With a heavy shovel, he started digging out the plants, mostly huge. Since the soil was so hard, he had to jump up and land back on the shovel to make any change. An hour later, he had dug out the plants and replanted them in the row he had made.

After pulling the garden hose over to water the plants, he asked Dale if he had a ladder nearby in the garage. With Dale steadying that ladder, he reached up and hammered the gutter nails back into place.

After a little meal, we settled down to play a few games of Rummikub to close off our time together. Good for David who does all he can to help those who need him. Surely that was a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day! At least it was for me and for Dale too. – CHRIS