My Back Yard

Where’s the ballerina?

The masons have demolished my front yard’s retaining wall and preparing for the new wall. Apparently that demanded lopping off an additional six inches of soil behind our old wall.

When I looked around, I couldn’t find the ballerina rose plant that had yielded small, white-pink roses for two years. Apparently it was disposed of with the rest of the soil. I’m guessing that an inexperienced team member trashed the ballerina, but was caught before he demolished the sedums next to her. I found a bunch of sedums re-planted next to the foundation of my house.

Luckily, my Red Knockout roses, which I’m much fonder of, survived., though some roots were clipped. They don’t just look good, they smell good.

This is good excuse to replace my Ballerina with Red Knockout next spring.

Recently Iggy said to me, “Here, take this CD and play it 20 times.” He was making fun of my propensity to listen to the same recording over and over again.

Music plays a different role in our lives. I use music like interior decorators use wallpaper and elevators use Muzak — as a calming influence. Something that’ll numb my anxiety, without being too distracting.

So, for me it’s good to repeat the same, familiar music. There’s nothing new to startle me.

Iggy may actually listen to the music. Perhaps he even gets revved up by it. That’s a totally different kind of musical experience.