The Shady Side Of The Street

Today we have a bit of a rainy day forecast.  

It seems that there is a tropical depression forming off the coast of the Carolina's that is pushing a bit of light rain our way along with that moist humid air that makes the dogs pant and makes me run for the splendor of air conditioning.

SM remarked the other day how glorious it was to feel the heat of Summer.  I agree with him to a certain extent.  When the humidity is low and I poke my pasty white legs out into a sunny patch it does feel good.  But if I stick anything else out into the sun I get overheated too easily.

It seems that as I've gotten older, I've become allergic to direct sunlight. Even in the Winter, it heats me up too fast and makes me feel weird.

So I've come to appreciate days that are partly to mostly cloudy.  I can get a lot more outside work done on those days.  The Carolina's are blue sky country for sure.  In the Summer, I try to get all my outside work done before 10 am.  After that I head for the shade either under the porch roof or under the trees.

When we moved here it was nothing but hard concrete dirt.  Not a single tree or shrub.  We were told that this part of our subdivision was built on a farmers field.  Maybe he grazed cattle.  If he grew soybeans or corn then that might explain the depleted soil.

On a day like today when the rain emphasizes the "lushness" of my yard and garden, I've come to appreciate just how far we've come in the 18 years we have owned this property.  

Every bush, tree and flower has been bought and planted with intention.

We do have a cool line-up of naturally germinated Maples that we are allowing to grow.  It makes me happy to think that one day my backyard will be mostly shady.  I envision myself sitting out back with a book and an easy chair listening to the birds sing.

I'll still have plenty of sunny patches that will feel like an inferno within the month.

Still, it's kinda neat to think just how far we've come with this property.