Relative Something

Monday, September 27,  continued…

Ian and I had decided to take some trees down to the spring and get them planted, while Cyndie was creating lunch. We selected a batch of camellias for a hedge and a Rowan, or Mountain Ash, to get started.  The planting was very inspiring and both Ian and I wanted to do more. I saw a spot that deserved the weeping willow tree that was growing too big on the edge of his shade house. It was competing for space just outside Frida’s and Doll’s stables. It made sense to me to get the tree out of the way there and now we had a wonderful new destination for it.

That seemed to inspire Ian, and we added a small fig tree that was rooting right next to the willow anyway, and then a magnolia tree and two little silk trees. The biggest chore was actually breaking the willow roots free from the tangle they had grown to, in the shade house. They had grown down through the black fabric of the floor and out and around a long way toward the horse stables. It was a big deal to get all the roots extracted and I felt extra pleasure to be accomplishing this phase of the project. It was a double reward to have the space opened up, and to have a new precious home for the tree.

We put the trees, tools and bags of manure in the back of the Subaru, the bulk of the willow hanging out the back, and off we went again, armed for a good bit of planting. It was wonderful to collaborate with Ian and witness his creative eye and intelligent sense of plants. We would dig in a spot we wanted to plant, in hopes of finding good, moist soil, then pour in water and manure and set the plant. A little dirt backfill, a topping of manure and one more bucket of water finishes the planting. I began placing stones that had tumbled down from the old wall of the path nearby and we had a very nice little garden created around the spring. It unfolded really nicely and we were able to get a significant start on a pretty special space that afternoon. It was a real highlight for me.

When we returned, we found Cyndie in the driveway with a table set up and quite an impressive project of basket-making in progress. I was very, very impressed with her ingenuity. I have witnessed her thrive here and it is thrilling to see her creative energy and interaction with horses in full bloom.

The next task that needed to happen was getting fresh cuttings for the horses to eat, before we bring them back up from the lower field. Ian used the power tool to cut, and I raked and packed bales into the Forester. Up on the hill where he was cutting, Ian realized he hadn’t showed me the mine shafts that had been dug, in search of water many years ago. He said it is the way they used to do it. There are apparently 3 in the area, and none of them found water. I was duly impressed. It seems rather high up to be searching for water, but it must have proved successful somewhere in the past for them to work that hard in such a search.

Once finished cutting, we stocked the stables with food and it was time to bring up horses. I volunteered to watch the things on the stove for Cyndie while she went down with Ian to get the horses. They surprised me by bringing up Doll and Sebastian first. Those were the two horses ready to go, so Ian decided to grant them the honor this time.

Cyndie said that while she was cooking dinner, Cassius suddenly attacked Shelly violently and she had to use a chair to separate them and then banished Cassius to outside. They were okay while I was on watch of the soup on the stove. Apparently, Cyndie was pouring salt in the soup when the fracas erupted and so dinner became a high sodium event. Wow, was that soup salty! Too bad, because otherwise it would have been great chicken soup. Her fresh-baked bread was an additional treat.

I was covered from head to toe in dirt and dust, so Cyndie let me head down to shower while she finished the dishes. It was a very rewarding day. Cyndie had forgotten to bring the adapter cable for her camera, but I was able to transfer her memory card to my camera in order to download her pictures, so we watched a long slide show review before we turned in for the night.