a rusty garden ...

- a rusty garden -

One of the hallmarks of being a 'Careless Gardener' is a pile of rather expensive but rusty garden tools.  Every spring I find at least one of my favorite garden tools buried out in the garden or, even worse, sitting all alone in the bottom of a dirty bucket that sat all winter - collecting water.  

In my garden, a well-loved garden tool is a rusty tool.

While it may be wishful thinking I just felt that if I had somewhere to put all my gardening tools and gear away every fall that I could become an 'Organized Gardener' instead of a careless one.  So, with this in mind, I had a little garden shed built.   

Hallelujah, now all my gardening junk has a nice dry home for the winter.

In my wildest dreams, I am uber organized and neatly put all my tools away at the end of each and every gardening day but in reality I know this will probably never happen.  At best,  I hope that I can manage to get most, if not all, of my garden tools put away in the shed for the winter and not leave them buried somewhere in the garden.  

- time will tell -

Either way, I love my new garden shed, it's not big but it's all mine!  It's a mess right now because late last summer when it was finished being built I just threw everything in it for the winter.

Today, I will go and get it organized before I head out to the garden but before I do I want to share the DIY instructions for restoring your rusty tools.

Soak rusty tools in a weak vinegar solution. 

1. Remove them from the solution and wipe down with paper towel to dry them, then clean the rust off with steel wool.
2. Heavily rusted blades may need a second soaking after the first layer of rust comes off.

www.wikihow.com

'In the spring, at the end of the day,

 you should smell like dirt.'

Margaret Atwood

my constant grief

                                       
    

April 9th
my day of constant grief

it is, I have decided,  just luck

it is not destiny, not a gift

or divine intervention

i was just lucky

some are

some aren't

and like most things in life

it just is what it is

for some

grief comes much too early

and stains their life 

forever a dingy white

for me
it came later in life

but still,  i was not prepared
and it was, what it was
i could not change it

death came - into my life
cloaked in hushed voices
 lowlights & soft touches
a last breath, 
exhaled
 over a sea of grief

 there was no lifeboat,
no anchor or mainstay
and no chart 
to see me safely through 

'hold tight', i whispered
as grief's savage waves & fury 
tossed me about
alone, lost in a sea of grief

suspended
on the edge of time

was it for a second, a minute,
an eternity, i do not know
but now,  a familiar state of emptiness
our grief - has become my familiar
and even as the harsh waves abate 
and even as my grief finally settles
it is still near
It is always
my constant companion
.....