Everyone should have a place to detox from the struggles in their lives. That’s what I had in mind when I hand-dug my pond in August 1997. No big deal, you say? Well, maybe but no matter how often people say “It’s a dry heat” it was hot, damned hot. Digging in the brutal heat was a challenge but I persevered and today I have fish swimming in my back yard.
I need a sanctuary from the stress and disappointment of writing. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love writing but for now it’s all work, and when I’m trying to think of a better way to tell a part of the story it gets really frustrating. I can watch television or listen to music, I suppose, or I can stare at the computer screen and surf the net hoping the right words will suddenly come to me, but that’s a long and unreliable technique.
I learned a long time ago that a clear, relaxed mind was far better to work with, and modern entertainment bombards the senses rather than sooths them. So I’m going back to my pond and working it into my Garden of Eden, so to speak. Budget constraints at the time meant I had to cut corners and do things on the cheap, and all these years later it shows. Fortunately I am looking at the bigger picture now – the need to do it right so I can enjoy the results.
Last week I completed a major task – replacing the two main bridges over the stream. I could not be happier with the results. Now all I have to do is get the rest of the muck out, including the ten tons of sand I put in when I started!
