Ordering the Chaos

There were two hummingbirds bathing in our "water feature" this morning. The goldfinches love it, and we frequently see them there, but this is the first time we've seen hummingbirds. Usually they are moving so fast that we hear them before we see them, and they can be quite aggressive--driving each other away from the feeder, unfazed by our presence. These two looked quite companionable fluttering away in the water.

Dana showed up, after OilMan and Will went off for a game of golf, with another batch of flowers to finish the job she started yesterday. OilMan has been toiling away up at the top of the hill clearing weeds and planting seeds, but somehow the leftovers from these projects detract considerably from the overall result--tomato cages slowly being bound to the fence against which they are leaning by the vines growing there, piles of irrigation hose and rocks and dead weeds, shovels, string, clippers and other tools.

Now there is a lovely border of colorful flowers and edible plants such as giant red mustard and purple kale. Order has been restored to the scattered bags of soil, shovels and empty pots, and the dead weeds carried away.

Inspired by Dana's industry, I coiled up the patio hose, dragged out for some watering project and left to trip up the unwary and offend me. I also read all the parts of the Sunday New York Times that interest me, polished up all the stainless steel in the kitchen and wrestled our comforter into the newly washed cover. This is a job I hate, but made considerably easier, I daresay even possible for one person, unaided, by the judicious use of safety pins. I thought about washing some windows but decided the birds are more likely to see them and less likely to fly into them if I leave them dirty....