Making an Impact

Apparently we like to shape the yards of the places we live.

The first spring and summer I was in my Settlement charge I planted a hedge along the manse sidewalk (which was just getting going nicely by the time we left),  I expanded the vegetable patch from 8x8 to 16x24, and I dug out a bunch of overgrown/rangy/half-dead stuff in the front flowerbeds.  Over the next few years we planted several shrubs and trees (some we bought, some trees one of the trustees brought in from the lake).  We also tried to get the front beds going with perenniels but they never seemed to take hold -- poor soil.  In the time we were there we also had a double pull clothesline put in (60 feet long for a total 120 feet of hanging space, we could hang lots of stuff at once).  The yard was not the same when we left as it was when I arrived.

Fast forward to last year.  When we arrived there were a number of things that we knew needed to be done.  SOme were inside (like replace the crimped water line leading to the dishwasher, install a shower curtain rod, hang a mirror in the bathroom).  SOme were external.  Immediately after we arrived we did some desperately needed fence repairs (the whole fence needs to be redone, a project that will be done in stages starting next spring),  Later in the summer I started turning over sod to make a vegetable garden.  This spring I finished that project and put 10 yards of new dirt in the garden before planting it.  We also added dirt to the side flowerbed.  Then we built our new sidewalk and big front flowerbeds.  This meant getting some shrubs to serve as anchors for those beds and starting to put in perreniels (the front beds will largely be in perreniels), a job that finished for this year last week with some perenniels purchased on sale and some fall bulbs.  Over the summer we have also planted 4 trees.  And we have created a whole bunch of ideas for what else could be done in the yard.

Of course we will never see these efforts come to maturity.  Just like in the manse, we plant things for those who come after to enjoy.  There is a message about faith and life in there I think.

But apparently we like to shape (or re-shape) the yards of the places we live.