I have to hand it to Gardener Dave and Matt, they work whatever the weather. Today it started a bit damp but steadily managed to get wetter and wetter until they sloshed around the garden looking like a couple of Scottish fishermen just home from a fruitless trip out to sea. Just goes to show how much better working indoors can be. Well, except in the summer when it’s mostly too hot.
It’s interesting because when I worked on building sites, if it rained, you stopped working and sat in the shed. This was, apparently, for safety reasons. It was also, I think, something the unions had fought for and gained for the workers. Of course, it only applied to people working outside. If you were one of the (un)lucky ones whose job entailed working on a dry and covered floor, you’d be slaving away while your mates played cards.
Things here seem different though because the people working outside the Swain and Jones development were working in the rain this morning when I walked by. Maybe they’re on a tight deadline…which surprises me given it’s been years since it started.
One thing that made me very happy, though, was the fact that the footpath has reopened after a number of years. You wouldn’t think it would make a lot of difference but it really, really does. On the other side of the road the footpath narrows to almost less than the average human width, making things difficult for groups and people with strollers, not to mention wheelchairs.
Now the path is back and newly made.
Of course it won’t be long before cars and trucks and vans are half parking on it so the lovely smooth surface is merely a stopgap. Still, for a while anyway, it’s going to be lovely. Of course, what you can’t quite make out from the photo above is the sign.
To make sure that pedestrians are still inconvenienced, someone has put a sign in the middle of the footpath informing all drivers that the road will be closed at some point in the future for some sort of essential work. I think they need a second sign warning pedestrians that they may have a brand new footpath but they’re still shit compared to vehicles.
But back at the house, our wet gardeners toiled away in the mud and the water until it was time to go. I wished them a better rest of the day but things did not improve.
I should add that everyone was well impressed with Matt’s strength when he picked up a large wooden sleeper and placed it along the path. To show it wasn’t a fluke, he did it with a second sleeper as well. He claimed it was all the spinach he ate – he loves spinach.
Strength aside, things didn’t improve weatherwise. Mirinda’s mental health improved out of sight when she received an email telling her she’d won an award…but more about that later.
The puppies’ mental health suffered a bit, though, given the crappy weather.
