Friday, September 13, 2019

A Busman's Holiday, Part 1

A busman's holiday - doing the same thing on vacation that you would do at work. 

Well, as retired folk, our "work" is the gardening we do at home. This week we went to the Whidbey Island cabin to do the same. The garden there had been neglected all summer, since we had plenty to do at home what with our several celebrations here, and then the family all had their vacation weeks booked through the summer. They don't garden. 

Monday afternoon we took the ferry ride to the island.
 Before going to the cabin we went to Langley, to the city hall, to get a yard waste dumping permit.  Then, since the Useless Bay Coffee Company is right across the street, and this was a busman's holiday, we enjoyed an afternoon coffee and a treat al fresco.  
 We stopped at the hardware store and bought a new wheelbarrow.
 We took it easy the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the calm stillness, and the mirror surface of Deer Lagoon.
 After a light supper, we took a short walk on the beach road, stopping to appreciate this wonderful rugosa rose. 


 We looked down at the job we would tackle in the morning. 
 Besides all of the perennials that had gone to seed, and the dead plants that had suffered from no watering, the garden was filled with these nasty suckers from a neighbor's tree.  It was not going to be fun digging them out, with their roots running everywhere.  
 Tuesday morning the good weather we were promised materialized. We worked all day at grubbing out the garden and filling bags. 

 At 4:00 we stopped, got cleaned up, and watched a US Men's National Team soccer match on TV while we prepared and ate a simple supper.

After the match, about 7:00, we went out to appreciate the lovely evening.
 Deer Lagoon is our back yard.
 Across the street is the bay. We sat on a log and watched the sun go down and the clouds light up. 

 As the sun went down, the moon rose. 



 And the clouds went pink. 




It was time to go back to the cabin and settle in for the evening, tired, but happy with what we had accomplished.

Part 2 up next. 

15 comments:

  1. What a wonderful, perfect day with a perfect ending! I loved all the great pictures (as you always have) and felt like I was there with you. Without the sore knees and back, though. :-)

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  2. That sounds like quite a big job cleaning up the garden beds for winter. You have such lovely views ( for when you've done your work).

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  3. The summer sunsets take a long time. You got some great shots of various sunset colors

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  4. You have two lovely homes and amazing stamina in taking care of both. Have you noticed the water rising there?

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  5. Beautiful views! Definitely a reward for your hard work.

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  6. Yikes those were big bags. I love how you two work hard but you relax and enjoy the quiet times as well as anyone.

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  7. wow it's beautiful, what a fun though strenuous holiday!

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  8. A gorgeous setting in which to work! You're amazing!

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  9. No one helps you week when on vacation...just pulling out those tree seeds as they germinate would help...they are easy to pluck out when they first appear:)

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  10. What a beautiful place to ave a cottage!

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  11. I had to work back through several days of emails to find part 1. We have had company so I was out of my usual reading routine. CAn't wait to see part 2. You two made great progress already. Those post work shots are lovely.

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  12. I love the colors in this last picture. Like your new heavy duty wheelbarrow too. Don't think I could get through a day without my wheelbarrow. :) Oh, and that rugosa rose is beautiful, and so is Deer Lagoon.

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  13. I went through my favorite blogs today and I posted this message on the message board of each of them: You inspire me!

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  14. We've seen that rugosa rose all over Japan. I believe they use the hips for desserts, etc.
    Those clouds are so beautiful!

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