Serenity

I really want to hone in on this. I know I spoke of is yesterday - don't really remember if it was here or "there", but it's something I'm tuning into.

Yesterday, a "lazy" Sunday afternoon - not so lazy since I was busy working all over the place around the house, but still - I was sitting on the east side of the house.

From the beginning, when this house was placed on this property, I saw the potential of this portion of my property as being an oasis. I knew that GETTING there would be a major challenge - it takes money to do nice things with your property.

Sure, you can diligently scour Craigslist, a thing I have done to no end - and you can go to yard sales and you can try to find things when they are on sale - I have done all of that. But you don't ALWAYS find exactly what you're looking for on sale or cheap.

I have resisted getting something "lessor" over there because of my intense desire to make that place an oasis.

What really tuned it in was the fact that those ridiculous dogs next door had a temporary lapse for whatever reason. I could see them through the fence, staring at me and my dogs, but they were not barking. My dogs were lazily laying in the grass, simply enjoying being with - me, actually. I don't call them out there, they follow me like a magnet to steel. I let all 3 of the big dogs come out front with me now.

I do that to train them to STAY on the property. If that gate ever gets left open again, I hope by that time I have them ALL trained to STAY HERE. One of them got it last time, maybe they will ALL get it if ever again. They are very social animals, I don't have to worry about them attacking someone or someone's pet walking down the street. The worst that will happen is they don't listen and go up to that person or animal and start sniffing.

Of course, if the animal they GO to is prone to violence, that could lead to an unhappy ending. Which is why I keep an eye on both ends of the street - if anyone is coming with a dog, my boys and girl are going back behind the gate.

Oh, the beauty of tranquility. The essence of simply taking in life and the good it has to offer. Looking around thinking thoughts of heaven and just total peace. I couldn't get enough of it, yesterday.

I sat there in the peace, looking at the area I was in, thinking what I would like to do with it. Plenty of thoughts came to mind, all of it costs money. I'm not complaining, it gives me goals. Goals to find ways to make these things happen.

I was out there again today, but it was very warm - 106 high today - so I didn't exactly have the same feeling. Tomorrow and the rest of the week have 100 as the high and lower. That is something I an deal with. I have plenty I can do over there right now without spending any more money, including the installation of that drip system. It will start in earnest very soon - as soon as I know I can just sit there in coolness or mild warmth and not have to think about how unbelievable hot it is out there.

By next summer - providing I still have this place and don't lose it to foreclosure or something bad happens - I will have a misting system out there and I am going to install a small patio cover made out of materials I can get for free from work. They throw away beautiful 4x4's all the time. It would be a very simple matter to cement 4 of them into the ground and then build a roof type of thing on it and install a misting system into it. Okay, I would have to pay for the cement and other small items, it would be very cheap.

There is no reason I should be thinking about spending my time on the WEST side of the house outside during the summer when I can do something very affordably with the EAST side of the house. I have those Sissoo trees growing like weeds on the west side of the house, by next summer I hope they can do some good in casting some shadows over there.

I'm a total tree fanatic. I have 13 Sissoo trees planted and a 14th left to go, and yes I've found a place for it, and yes, it will be planted in the next few days. There are a total of 25 trees planted now when considering the ficus. No, make that 26 with the tiny little pine tree that, in 25 years, will be a behemoth. These are all small trees. I wasn't waiting for the day before never, I had the opportunity to get the Sissoos and the Ficus cheap. Sissoos are native to India, I have read, and do not need alot of watering.

BUT, if you DO a lot of watering, they grow like CRAZY!!

Back to the east side of the house. During summer, besides the misting system, a simple evaporative cooler will give the additional cooling needed out there to make me not go insane wanting to BE out there, but NOT wanting to be in the excessive and abusive heat.

I had a very enjoyable day out there yesterday. I could stand some more of them.

ben