A friend sent me a verse written in the seventeenth century by poet Abraham Cowley:
May I a small house and large garden have;
And a few friends,
And many books, both true.
No wonder she thought of me when she saw that snippet — it seems to describe my life perfectly. A small house, a large garden (not quite yet, but in the making!), a few true friends, and many books, though too few of those books, perhaps, are true. Actually, I don’t own many books except those I wrote, a few reference tomes, some tarot books, and quite a few alchemical texts that I have yet to study. Most of my “many books” are in the library that is a mere four blocks from my small house. As long as I can manage to get there, all those books belong to me. In fact, when I was there earlier today, the only person in the building besides me was the librarian. So, not just a private library all my own, but a personal librarian to take care of all my books!
On the way back from the library, I picked up another two plants for my ever-expanding garden. I was going to say ever-growing, but too many plants haven’t started to flower or even spread. My hanging lobelia is doing fine, though.
And so, of course, are the weeds.
When I returned from my errands, I took the time to mow the weedy lawn. Workers are supposed to come later this week, and I thought it might be a good idea if they could actually see where they needed to work. Of course, my having done the job pretty much guarantees that they won’t come, so I suppose it would have been smarter to leave everything the way it was. But then, if I waited too long, the mower wouldn’t have been able to cut the weeds. As it is, there are a couple of very tall, very tough patches of grass that defeated the mover. It seems as if next on my shopping list will be grass clippers.
I paused here to look up battery operated grass clippers and found one that might be a fun and useful tool to have to help me create my “large garden.” Now I know how I will spend my next paycheck!
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One. “Grief: The Inside Story is perfect and that is not hyperbole! It is exactly what folk who are grieving need to read.” –Leesa Healy, RN, GDAS GDAT, Emotional/Mental Health Therapist & Educator
Bertram's Blog 
June 8, 2021 at 3:02 pm
I would like to have a decently-sized home for my needs and a nice small garden or backyard someday. That would be a lovely thing to have. I’m a little jealous of you, Pat.
Also, that poem sounds like it was written by Yoda, lol.
June 8, 2021 at 6:34 pm
I’d be jealous of me, too. I never in my wildest dreams thought it possible.
June 8, 2021 at 6:37 pm
People are accomplishing impossible things every day. There’s even a song about it.
June 8, 2021 at 4:33 pm
I’m right there with you, Pat. Our home is cozy and easy to keep up but we have a large property that is almost all flowers, lawn and garden beds. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 🙂
June 8, 2021 at 6:34 pm
Sounds wonderful!