Rains, Too Much Rains

[ Rainy driveway ]

July 3 – After a dry fall and winter, we wondered if we would ever be able to plant a garden, but finally, when the rains came, they must have chosen to stay awhile, because we had a river or two in our unpaved driveway with huge puddles all over. Then the cry was not, “When are we going to have some rain?” but instead, “If we have much more rain we’ll never dry out, the garden will be too wet to plant, and we may end up buying onions and tomatoes!” That thought was just about unheard of earlier, but not any more.

The onions we planted much earlier are so full of weeds we can hardly tell where the row is! The thirty cabbage plants were eaten off completely by rabbits which also ate off the peppers. Something took care of about 5 of the 40 tomato plants. Good thing we put straw around those plants before setting up the cages to hold the plants tall. At times we can’t even walk in the patch to see how the plants are coming along. If we did, we might sink out of sight in the mud!

[ Clobbered peony ]

All of the rain and strong winds early last month were very unkind to our beautiful peonies as they stood out on the lawn in a colorful row. One pure white with big blooms, one with pink and white, and two completely red. The plants were tall and so full of blooms right from the beginning that Dale suggested that we put stakes up all around the plants, then join them with light ropes. That took a bit of time since the bushes were so big. Unfortunately, as the rain and wind continued, we had to cut off the ruined blooms and take the stakes back to the garage. That all happened in about one week!

[ Mock Orange ]

Since there were so many blooms, I decided to use the small pruning shears and cut one at a time so I could count how many total blooms there were. I told Dale I thought there might be about 300 or so, and neither he nor I could believe the actual number of flowers. Believe it or not, I counted five hundred and seventy-seven! Look at that number again! Pretty good for only five bushes of various sizes. The mock orange bush did really well this year, all covered with little white flowers.

And what about our lawn mowing? With all the rainy days we’ve had, the grass never seems to fully dry out, just getting higher and higher. Good thing both of us enjoy outdoor work. Makes a big difference in my outlook on life as I realize that not only does the job need doing, but I enjoy every minute of the time I can be out in the sunshine and light breeze. Just hope it stays quiet and won’t blow me off the mower! A few times along the way I have been mowing on the side of the pond wall on a very windy day and find myself leaning away from the pond to give me courage to keep on going with the wind on my side!

[ Chris on the mower ]

Speaking of mowing, we made new friends when we took the mower front wheel along for the folks at Lunsford Motors to repair. The first time we took it to the shop, the leak in the tire was fixed for a set price. But by the next day, that tire had no air left in it. So, it was off to Lunsford again, for a second repair. The folks there sent us home without asking for a second payment. When the air still left the tire for a third time, we decided to take the wheel and the tire to the shop once more, only this time we would forget the repair and order a completely new tire!

When we returned to the shop to pick up the new tire, we found that Bebe (who takes care of customers), was all set to bring out the wheel with the tire in place. No problem these days when I climb onto that mower and know that I can mow for several hours without having one concern that there may be more repairs needed. That family is such a happy one, and kind to all who step inside the door. They just received a boost from the local Chamber of Commerce, a well-deserved honor!

Bebe, with her smile and kind ways, endears herself to everyone she talks with. One time as I was finishing up a story I was telling her, she asked, “Do you like cheese crackers? You can have some if you do! Quickly she moved to a small table on which all kinds of treats were placed. Some of those treats must be for kids who get tired of waiting for their parents to take care of business in the shop. She is so kindly that I think she always tries to find a solution to anyone’s problem!

Wouldn’t it be a new world if all of today’s inhabitants were more interested in making other folks happy than in getting everything they want, no matter how they get it! I saw a little story the other day that reminded me of that point. “The really rich people are not those who try to get everything they can and keep all, but those who are so happy with what they do have, that they don’t complain, but rather share what they have!” – CHRIS