Gates

 There was a chill in the air this morning, definitely fall weather. I like Autumn and normally would have been ecstatic over the beautiful day we are having. My grief hangs over me like a shadow. At every turn I expect to see my fat little dog waddling towards me.

I woke this morning to no feeling in my right arm. Sometime during the night I must have reached down to pick Cujo up in my sleep. I don't remember waking to look for Cujo, but I must have. He had a habit of getting down for water. He could get down with no help, but couldn't jump up without my help. Eddie has never tried to jump from the bed, preferring to wait for my assistance. Bo can jump either way, as can Toni Louise.

My right hand was so cold, don't know how long it hung down from the side of the bed. My armpit hurts, too. Not as much as my heart, though. It is far too quiet here. The dogs only barked once today when the mail lady dropped off a package and then it was not with the usual gusto.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I washed my hands ..... I should not leave the property today! I would like to think I got a good bit done today. I set up three big planters in the back yard and hauled dirt to fill them. Not easy at all!

Like the backyard at the campground, I have no gate to facilitate big tasks. I can only get to it from the back screened deck. I have to carefully clean the mower, bring it up the steps and into the porch, then back down the steps to the back yard. My mower is small and lightweight, but I do not intend to wait 3 years for a hinged gate!

You might have noticed that I said HINGED gate. Over the past 48 years I have learned to be very specific when asking for something. At the campground, I had to drag the mower through one of the many sheds that HeWho used as dropping points for whatever he was currently working on. This means that the path was totally blocked from time to time and I would clear it. Sometimes I did it stoically, without a word to the man who can't seem to put anything back where he got it.

And .... sometimes I did it spectacularly, for any and all to witness. It may have provided much entertainment for the residents, but HeWho was the source of my angst never thought so. One of my gripes was the "gate" he fashioned for the backyard that the shed opened into. For nearly THREE years it was a big piece of lattice that was framed and it LEANED against the opening. This allowed many dog escapes and HeWho fixes stuff, came up with a cement block to hold it in place. So if I wanted to get the mower in the yard, I had to first make sure all my dogs were inside, except for Cujo. Cujo was not one to run away from me, but to me. Then I had to go inside the yard via the house and move the concrete block and then lift the entire gate to one side while I maneuvered the mower into place. This made my Christmas request one year to have an actual gate with hinges.

I am nothing if not practical and thought my request should be easy enough to make come true. Alas ... I was wrong. After three years, a gate finally appeared in the back of the yard. Mostly due to Kevin's abilities and thoughtfulness. Then that gate got blocked after we had to replace the pump in the well. They took the fence sections down and the equipment moved around a lot of ground and the gate was never the same. Sometimes one could open it if they lifted up and heaved it out of the way and through a mound of dirt I finally shoveled away.

A gate cannot be that difficult to build! I will just build one myself! In the meantime, I shoveled 6 buckets of ground dirt into the bottom of the containers, then 6 buckets of potting soil. Four bucket per container that all had to be heaved OVER the fence. I planted my collard greens and watered them. Next I need to get my early peas moved to a sunnier spot if I am to make a good harvest before frost. That particular container is too heavy for heaving and will take two people to carry it up the steps and down the steps to its final destination. I have a wagon and a handtruck, but I need a gate!

I must go research my new project! I am going to have a gate! Mark my word!