That's all the winter I need anymore.
Living in Georgia for well over half a century, I experienced enough cold weather to last me a life time.
If I want winter now, I simply go back home for a visit.
I like living in the land of eternal flip flop season. Only downside is I have to keep my toenails polished year round. I'm so old the hair on my legs apparently went somewhere else to live.
My chin and upper lip.
One at a time...literally.
Note to post menopausal women everywhere: Keep a pair of tweezers and magnifying mirror handy when you hit your late fifties.
At least I only have to shave my legs once a month now (if that often) and they still look like Massey's, which she shaves daily.
I guess what I'm saying is growing old has its good points and bad points.
Heck, life has good points and bad points...with the only actual bad point being not waking up.
The great part about living in central Florida is that you can plant or grow anything pretty much year round. Even though we're still renting (for now) and had to extend our lease one more time, whoever moves in next will have a terrific yard waiting for them with about twenty different types of perennials blooming almost twelve months out of the year.
One thing I miss is my big yard back in Georgia, especially this time of year.
Our front yard here in Orlando is pretty small. The backyard is even smaller. The landlord pays a guy to do the yard work but is never up to my standards. They miss spots, which drives me nuts and aren't the best weed eater operators. I remember one time back home when I used to cut the front of our subdivision twice a month. I was taking the kids to school one morning and was at the stop sign at the end of our street, waiting to turn on to the main road. I put my car in park and got out to pull one tall weed I had inadvertently missed the day before. I looked back and Massey was sitting in the car, shaking her head, while rolling her eyes.
I don't have my weed eater here with me, it's still in the garage of our old house. If I did have it here, would most certainly go out after the yard guys left and trim all the weeds they missed myself.
Instead I focused on the front yard which was pretty dull when we first moved in. I pulled weeds by hand for two days straight in an overgrown former flower bed and planted a ton of seed packets I had from my nephew's wedding. They had given them as gifts at their wedding and I took home every single packet guests forgot to take with them.
Unfortunately I didn't keep up with the clipping of dying ones, drying them out and replanting the seeds from the center and by this spring once again had an empty flower bed. There was one type flower, totally in the center that did come up again this year. It's the tallest green one in this photo, which blooms red.
I caught bulbs on sale at Big Lots. Three dollars, with three bulbs in each packet! Gladiolas, Brown Eyed Susan's, Lillie's of the Valley, and about ten other varieties.
The last time I stopped in they had a roll out, ten foot long organic mat for flowers which attract hummingbirds. That's right...on sale for $3.99.
I went home and dug out the hummingbird feeder from a box in the garage that Massey had given me for Mother's Day a few years back, took it apart, cleaned and washed it and loaded it with homemade nectar. It now hangs outside, over the center of my kitchen window.
I wasn't real crazy about cleaning out the area underneath the window, I saw a snake back there one time, but put on shoes instead of flip flops and did it anyway.
It's not a fancy house. It's a tiny house. But it's our house, for now. If I have to live there another six months, so be it...but if I have to back out of that (also) tiny garage every day to leave that tiny house, I want to look at an awesomely groomed tiny little yard.
We don't really have a winter season here.We have a dry season. It rains every day (usually for about twenty minutes) all summer long and makes everything lush and beautiful. During the dry spell, wildfire season occurs. Our grass is barely existent now.
BINGO!!
Big Lots also had bags of grass seed on sale for five bucks.
What kind? I don't know.
Oh yeah I do.
The cheap kind!
So I'm also spreading by hand (the push spreader is also in my garage back home in Georgia) two bags of "I don't care what kind of" grass seed and watering the yard and my flower beds twice a day.
Going back for another bag tomorrow to randomly toss in our back yard. The dogs go to scratch their backs on the grass and get up looking like they rolled in a hay stack. With all their pooping, that grass ought to be well fertilized and green as grass in no time!
Baby steps.
Be happy where ever you are in life.
It could always be worse and sometimes may be, but if you keep on keeping on and give life your best shot...the chances for success always increase.
It took me a long time to feel comfortable enough to call Orlando home but is now...and that's okay too.
Can't wait to post pics when all my planting blooms.
Negativity brings nothing but negativity, so why focus on it?
My husband always says (used to drive me nuts) "You can't go back" but he is exactly right.
You can't.
Move on, press forward, hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.
'Lather, rinse and repeat.'
That should be life's mantra.
I'm getting old, actually seventy five percent of the way there, but trying and keep a younger mindset...even with all my wrinkles and batttle scars.
Along the way I have learned one very important thing.
As long as you fill your life with family and true friends; they will be warriors who will always have your back...and you will be okay.
And I am.
Older, a little bit wiser and grateful to be both.
I'm not going home again, unless for a visit and will try and do so often. Sometimes you can't get it out of your head...but I've always been a slow learner.
Till next time...COTTON
No comments:
Post a Comment