Do you remember that rather famous saying by David Ben Gurion? It went something like this: Time works both for and against us. Boy, did he ever get that one right. I cannot believe that it is already the end of July. So much for my New Year's Resolution to write blogs more frequently. Life just gets in the way. My last posting was just around Pesach. Now it's just past Tisha ba'av. Hmmmm, wonder if there might be a pattern here.
Well, what can I say? I have been busy. We redid our backyard. Something that was supposed to take ten days ended up taking three months give or take a month or two. Why? Because of the rain. And goodness gracious did it ever rain! We were actually shy of forty days and forty nights by a day. How scary is that?
We decided to put in a stone patio as opposed to a wooden deck because we have this very annoying creature called a carpenter or wood bee. Very large, very black, and there were a whole lot of them. They don't bite but they are very destructive. And a little bit scary.
Anyway, I met a great guy named Mick from a company called Stonescape. Super great guy and fabulous work. He and his men are true artists in their craft. I love my patio, it almost reminds a bit of Israel with its stone walkways and streets. I met with Mick for exactly twenty minutes and told him what I wanted and he said: "I know what you have in mind." And he did. He returned in two weeks with a plan and it was gorgeous on paper. Even more gorgeous in reality.
We then had to decide on landscaping. I originally wanted a vegetable garden but that idea got kiboshed by my clan. Too messy. So we have roses, roses, roses, blueberry bushes, lavender, and then....we went nuts. Delphiniums, coneflowers, peonies, mock oranges etc. etc. etc. We had a spectacular display of colour in the spring, now just a few flowering wonders here and there.
But we have peaches and blackberries. We lost the battle with the birds and blueberries. The robins ate every one of them. And the currants, and the gooseberries, and the saskatoon berries. But it seems there are enough blackberries for all of us to share.
Anyway, the project is done, it's beautiful and we love it. So do the birds.
I'll write tomorrow and tell you about my excursions into the world of writing conferences.