I did something very enjoyable
I did something very enjoyable today… Terry came around this morning and together we spent a couple of hours dismantling the remaining decking and part of the fence. Well… dismantling is a bit too effete a term. Actually, we attacked it with sledgehammers and crowbars. It was lots of fun. Dislodged some almighty spiders! And it was nice to do something physical and outdoors for a change - when I did a detox, it recommended doing some work in the garden every 2 days, and I… nearly followed it, and appreciated the slower pace of work, the singlemindedness, the connection with the earth and nature. Since then, nearly 18 months ago, I’ve barely been outside. About time I stretched my gardening muscles, or something.
The results were amazing… I’ve always been very wary of taking the fence down. It’s a huge thing, and the house is wierdly situated on a hill, so we were totally enclosed - nice to have so much privacy, and the decking raised you up towards the sun. But actually, with the fence down the area is just as bright, the decking and the fence cancelled one another out. And although we’re a lot closer to our neighbours now, it’s still relatively private. In fact, I met a neighbour today, and Gill met another… makes it feel like we’ve been living in a bubble ever since we got here and tearing the fence down was the only way to meet people.
The garden feels so much bigger too - I’ve always been a bit disappointed with this garden, so small after our huge expanse in Ecclesfield. But with all the decking now gone you realise how large it is, just split up and round corners and stuff. For the first time I feel confident that we (well, Gill more than likely) can do something amazing with it. I can see the space for the pond, the little raised “lawnpit”. It’s gonna be great!
I also had a nice munch on the first load of rocket I planted. Tasty!