Lisa and Her ‘91 Chevy S10

My friend Lisa came over yesterday in her blue and white ‘91 Chevy S10. I wish I had taken a picture of it. She had a cubic yard of mulch in the truck bed that smelled divinely of cedar. Must have been from all the Christmas trees the city recycled. We proceeded to work about 5 hours in my yard enjoying the absolutely perfect day for outdoor work. Sunny, 68 degrees, a bit of a breeze. Now, everyone needs a friend like Lisa. How many people will come over with a truck full of mulch and spend 6 hours (counting lunch) helping you get your yard in shape? We had a grand time. Frequent water breaks. A sit-down lunch at a sushi restaurant, lots of laughter and fun and really hard work. We made a great first effort in my yard which unfortunately needs many more efforts, but that’s all for other days. After she left I felt that kind of exhilarating exhaustion that comes after physical labor outside, so I cleaned my vintage metal chairs that sit next to my bird bath. One is a classic round back turquoise motel chair; the other is a wheat pattern in a soft sage. Those, along with the emerald green glazed ceramic bird bath are a color oasis for me and the birds. And as it turns out, for the cats. My neighbor’s cat Roux uses the chairs to reach the bird bath so he can get a drink out of it. My cat, Cirrus, lays in the ferns between the 2 chairs just under the bird bath. My other cat Precious takes a longer view from the side porch steps. The spot attracts a lot of visitors. It’s the water. And the chairs. And the birds. But don’t worry. The birds don’t. No one’s ever even tried to catch one.