Yard Work - As Viewed From Heaven

Hi pals,

I am definitely not a yard person. I use to have a retired farmer neighbor who took beautiful care of all my flowers and shrubs, etc.  But he passed away after being in the nursing home a couple years.  He was like 95!  Since his passing, my yard has not been the same (to put it mildly)!  He would come and ask me if he could do my flowers and etc!  He even won blue ribbons at the state and county fairs for the Gladiolus he planted along both of the front sides of the length of my driveway.  He managed to keep the roses alive in the winter.  He "helped me" plant annuals.  He took care of the circle of Mums I have in the front yard, tulips here and there, day lilies, and other things I don't even know what all their names were. I would attach pictures, but unlike many of you, I am not a photographer either. 

 

I would worry about him being outside working that hard, but his children always said, that if anything happened to him, he'd pass on doing what he LOVED.  I miss him for many other reasons besides his gardening abilities.  Fortunately, his daughter now lives in his house, and is just a lovely neighbor, too.  She even has her entire back yard in a garden.  Sometime I will send pictures.  It's really something. It's too much for me, but she is in her 70's and loves working in the yard, too.  She even has a train that runs around the garden!  Very unusual, you'd have to see it to truly appreciate it.

 

I just had to preface this page with that, because I guess, I wanted to share about my friendship with a wonderful old  man who I know is in a better place today.  (But I still surely miss him.)

Hugs,

Merry

YARD WORK - AS VIEWED FROM HEAVEN

Overheard in a conversation between God and St. Francis):

 God: Francis, you know all about gardens and nature;what in the
 world is going on down there in the U.S.? What happened to the
 dandelions, violets, thistles and the stuff I started eons ago?
 I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow
 in any type of soil, withstand drought, and multiply with
 abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts
 butterflies, honeybees, and flocks of songbirds. I expected to
 see a vast garden of color by now. All I see are patches of
 green.

St. Francis: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. They are
called the Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers
weeds" and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them
 with grass.

God: Grass? But it is so boring, it's not colorful. It doesn't
attract butterflies, bees or birds, only grubs and sod worms.
 It's temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites
really want grass growing there?
 
 St. Francis: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it has grown a
 little, they cut it....sometimes two times a week.
 
 God: They cut it? Do they bale it like hay?
 
 St. Francis: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put
 it in bags.

God: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

St. Francis: No sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.
 

God: Now let me get this straight...they fertilize it to make it
 grow and when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it
 away?
 
 St. Francis: Yes, sir.
 
 God: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we
 cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows
 the growth and saves them a lot of work.
 
 St. Francis: You aren't going to believe this Lord, but when the
 grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more
 money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get
 rid of it.

God: What nonsense! At least they kept some of the trees.
 That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself.
 The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade
 in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a
 natural blanket to keep the moisture in the soil and protect the
 trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves become compost
 to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.

St. Francis: You'd better sit down, Lord. As soon as the leaves
 fall, the Suburbanites rake them into great piles and pay to
 have them hauled away.

God: No way! What do they do to protect the shrubs and tree
 roots in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose?
 
 St Francis: After throwing the leaves away, they go out and buy
 something called mulch. They haul it home and spread it around
 in place of the leaves.

God: And where do they get this mulch?
 
 St. Francis: They cut down the trees and grind them up to make
 mulch.
 

God: Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore.
 Saint Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have
 you scheduled for us tonight?

St. Catherine: "Dumb and Dumber," Lord. It's a really stupid
 movie about....

God: Never mind--I think I just heard the whole story from Saint
 Francis