gardening - Living - other - weather

Glorious Day

Today was like being let out of jail. The sun was shining. There was no wind. The sun, did I mention? It was shining. It was warm outside — 40s up into the 50s.

I cleaned up the yard (dog poop patrol), cut some hollyhock stalks and put them over where I want hollyhocks to grow next year. I turned over a garden bed. I pulled all the dead stuff off the herb bed so the parsley and the chives can start coming back. I pruned a couple of errant branches off the greengage plum tree.

Then I hung out on the outdoor furniture, read a lovely book called Tinkers, and generally just enjoyed the gorgeous weather. My cheeks feel a tiny bit pink.

It’s been kind of an overwhelming couple of weeks — and I had all these things I was going to do today — taxes, housecleaning, writing — but mostly I turned over a nearly-thawed garden bed, read a book, and enjoyed a beautiful beautiful day.

I'm a writer and editor based in Livingston, Montana. I moved to Livingston from the San Francisco Bay area in 2002 in search of affordable housing and a small community with a vibrant arts community. I found both. LivingSmall details my experience buying and renovating a house, building a garden, becoming a part of this community. It also chronicles my efforts to rebuild my life after the sudden death of my younger brother, and closest companion, Patrick in a car wreck.