Getting Settled

We are getting settled into our home and trying to find our rhythm. It's a little odd with the social distancing of the COVID-19 pandemic thrown into it. As I have shared before, the impact of staying away from social gatherings has a greater impact on Chris than on me. I am definitely more content at home most of the time than she is. The peace of sitting on the back porch and listening to the birds throughout the day suits me well. I really haven't even missed watching baseball or hockey that much. If I'm not mindful of other things, I could easily spend entire days sitting on the porch, reading, writing, thinking, enjoying a cigar, or even watching a little TV (yeah, I put one out here).

But, there is work to be done.

We continue to work on making the house our home and it is coming together. We've met most of our neighbors and everyone seems to be very nice. We even spent a little late-night driveway time with our next door neighbors on Sunday night -- just snacks, drinks, and getting to know each other while their two little kids slept.

The yard (meaning the area immediately around the house and not the 5 acre field) is going to be a major project. Due to the slope and early heavy rains, much of the topsoil and grass seed washed away leaving behind the typical rocky ground of southwest Missouri. It makes me think that it will take a couple of years (and a bunch of money) to get the nice lawn that we'd like to have. I'm not even sure where to begin. I guess I should start with slowing down the water runoffs where I can so that new soil and seed won't be washed away as well. 

It took several years to get our last lawn the way we liked it. Maybe I'll be spending the next few years working on this one. No worries. I have the time.

The morning is slipping away. I should probably get busy before it gets too warm. Mid 80s to 90 (28-30C) temps are forecast for the rest of the week. I guess we'll be turning on the a/c.

I hope you can find a place of peace during these chaotic times.

John