Seventy-Fourth Turn Around the Sun

 We are celebrating Joe’s seventy-fourth birthday in Joe style.

 

Pruning trees, shoveling and raking stone, and watching YouTube videos about machining. Which is what Joe is doing most days when the weather is good. For him, birthdays are no big deal. He appreciates the birthday wishes and the notes that friends and family posted on Facebook. He appreciates that Megan brought lasagna over for dinner, so he won’t have to cook or clean up the mess.

When I asked him three separate times what he would like for a birthday gift, his response was “the trees.” This translates to a tree trimmer coming to remove a large Ash tree that is diseased, and about six other smaller trees on our property that are either dying or taking up room where fruit trees can be planted. We are hoping “the trees” can be removed in the next few weeks.

Joe started his morning with a trip to the grocery store. While I was entering the receipt into our budget system, I noted that the seedless watermelon he purchased was $15.72. I called the grocery store as the watermelon was advertised at $4.99 each. This is still a bit pricier than we are used to in California BUT it is his birthday. I called the store, and they explained that the clerk hit the wrong key. Joe took the receipt back and they credited us with the difference. We learned it was the clerk’s first week in the job and he was relieved to discover she was not in trouble for a mistake.

The New York Times published an article today, “Why Gardening Is So Good for You,” about the positive physical and mental health benefits of gardening. Learning about the research made Joe’s day as he loves working in the yard. He enjoys getting his hands in the dirt, he enjoys pulling weeds, he enjoys climbing into trees and pruning or picking fruit.

Right now, he is outside cutting the dead tree branches into smaller pieces so they will fit in the Subaru. His hope is to get a trip into the Saint Michael Compost Yard. If you asked him, he’d say he is experiencing the ideal birthday.

P.S. We have a family rule that when Joe is on a ladder he has to have a spotter in case of an accident. While spotting, I used the opportunity to shoot photos from my vantage point. I think they show how beautiful our neighborhood looks.

North side of the neighborhood

South side of the neighborhood.