Fashions Change

The sun greeted Martin this morning as he was able to make a start on preparing the patio for repaving.

Anyone familiar with this area will know that the current sections of squared blocks, intermittently separated by such as the red tiles and troughs of slate chips and a gravel, unevenly balanced, because, as Martin discovered there is only a thin layer of sandy aggregate lying on top of soil beneath them.

First our helpful gardener dug out the loose material, with which he filled a wheelbarrow,

then, with several trips, wheeled it to a temporary location behind the shed.

Next, he tackled the pond in an old cistern, perhaps an example of our predecessors’ repurposing. Until we first cleaned it out it had been a thriving kindergarten for mosquitos. Having removed the surrounding concrete blocks ready for another trip with the wheelbarrow,

he transferred the murky water to a bucket from which he could tip it away. This enabled him to manhandle the heavy container and transport it out of the way.

No doubt probably 50 years ago someone thought the layout we inherited was a work of art. Tastes and fashions change.

I made good headway during the afternoon on John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”.

This afternoon we dined on Hordle Chinese Take Away’s excellent fare with which I drank more of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Jackie finished the Sauvignon Blanc.

65 comments

  2. “The Grapes of Wrath” … it was a new setwork during my second year of teaching English. The boys I was teaching at the technical high school at the time were only three or four years younger than me. I managed to read the opening description of the grandfather with a straight face and sans blushing and we proceeded at a reasonable pace. The boys were just ‘getting into’ the story when the Natal Education Department withdrew the book. Overnight. It simply had to go! Some Mother Grundies had complained about the explicit nature of some of the early descriptions! Well, by then my boys were hooked (what a joy!) and so I used to read it to them as a serial on a Friday afternoon. They loved it and identified so well with the characters.

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  6. There’s a whole lot of work there. I thought briefly of what if our paving gets that bad. Then dismissed it. At least most future update jobs in our the garden should be small ones. 🙂 It’s going to look great when Martin is finished.

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  7. Yes, fashions do change. And, yet, hard work will always be hard work. 😉 GREAT job, Martin! And so nice to have the sun join you as you work. 🙂 It’s nice to see the progression in photos and we look forward to seeing it when it’s all complete! 🙂
    (((HUGS))) 🙂
    PS…I read Grapes of Wrath in high school (eons ago!), and the teacher showed us the old movie starring Henry Fonda. 🙂

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      1. Interesting memory…in Northern California we met people who had traveled (as little children) with their families from Oklahoma to California in the 1930’s They said “We are grapes of wrath people.” 🙂 Listening to their stories of the long travels and starting over with nothing was sad, but interesting.

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  9. Martin has his work cut out for him, that’s a ton of work Derrick! It is certainly due for an upgrade. I am sure it will look great when completed. ☺️

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  12. Martin does have a challenge, that is for sure. It sounds like he knows that the key to a good repaving is a uniform, well drained subgrade upon which to place the pavers. (Sorry , it is my construction engineering background spouting out…) “Grapes of Wrath” is a Steinbeck classic.

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  16. Looking at your photos, it seems like Martin is working continuously. Reminds me somewhat of my husband, David. I hope they each take all the rest time they need.

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  26. Oh, what a job Martin has in front of him!

    Now I want to read The Grapes of Wrath again. When I first read it, I learned that the plants I knew as “Rows of Sharon”, from hearing the hedges spoken about by my mother, were actually “Rose of Sharon.”

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