Sunday, June 10, 2012

A Garden Story, or The Way They Do Things in Saskatchewan

I am on a book tour in Saskatchewan, and family \ friend visits; gardening; performing with my father at the Seniors' Centre in Watrous; my great niece's 6th birthday party; and tenant business have also been on the calendar.

Big thank yous to my various hosts: Logan Leedahl, Helen and Jim Herr, Eileen Kaun, Donna Boehm, and Gerry Hill. And also to the librarians and event organizers responsible for bringing me here (including my friends Rose Ward in Humboldt, and Bernice Keller in Middle Lake). And the Writers Union of Canada, the Saskatchewan Writers Guild, and Vertigo Reading Series.

Especially deep bows to all the friends who are coming out to support me at my various events. Wow. I am being so pleasantly surprised.

I want to share a wee story about my experience in Middle Lake, the village where I still own a home. I hadn't been to my house there for two years, and the tenants have not been gardeners. Actually, the yard was such a wasteland, you couldn't walk from the front to the back gate for weeds. You couldn't even tell there was a sidewalk. As Greg and I may be there for 4-6 weeks this summer, I wanted to clear a small patch within the weeds and put in at least a hint of a garden.

I began thrashing away, filling my garage with bag after gigantic bag of weeds and branches and wild grass. Oh, and daisies. They'd gone utterly crazy, taking over almost everything. The raspberries have also run riot (but that's a good thing). My neighbour Eileen immediately came over and started working with me. Then Marie, from across the street. I couldn't believe it. Two senior woman, on hands and knees, working right along- side me.

Soon Grace -- who moved in on the other side of Eileen after I'd left Middle, and thus I don't even know her -- showed up and worked extremely hard for about three hours. And she has cancer! Among other backbreaking chores, she whippersnipped my grass.

Amazing.

A few hours later, my friend Shirley arrived: "I've got my trowel and my water bottle," she said, "where do I start?" Wow. "Well," I said, and gave her a big hug, "there used to be many lupines in that bed over there. Let's see what we can find." And we began, two women in the dirt, trowels in tandem, a scene reminscent of "Little House on the Prairie."

The next day I was in the garden as early as possible again (I was staying at Eileen's). I had hoped to clear a space for the tomato plants I'd been given the night before (after my reading in neighbouring Pilger). Again, Eileen worked side-by-side with me. Then my friend Elaine came over. She saw the amount of work to be done and said she was going home for her mulcher. Soon she was back, and we were getting an island of space cleared.

Eileen went to get her mail. She returned and said: "I saw Frank Punk at the post office ... he's coming over with his rototiller. I'm making lunch. Elaine, you'll be staying too."

Frank did indeed arrive. He has bad shoulders now, so I got the rototiller off the trailer and into the yard. We shared the job of rototilling. Frank brought me a bucket of seed potatoes: red and white. Wouldn't take a dime for anything.

Then Clifford arrived, to fix my lawnmower.

That island of rich soil was growing. I whipped over to the store and bought a variety of seeds. A thunderstorm was threatening. No time for ensuring string-straight rows. Eileen dropped potatoes in the holes I'd dug, and helped me plant the swiss chard, a few varieties of lettuce, beets (there will be borscht!),  cucumbers, spinach, and carrots. I cleaned up some of the perennial beds, and threw some annuals in pots.

My dad had lent me his old Nissan truck (my friends got a kick out of the fact that I was touring SK with my 9th book in that beater, oil stains on the seats) and I made three trips to the dump. Liz was working there. She charged me $7, total. The community also hugely supported me at my readings in the area.

And this, dear friends, is the way they do things in Saskatchewan.

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VENUE CHANGE FOR REGINA READING,
MONDAY, JUNE 11TH ... 7:30 PM

The new venue is the Cathedral Village Freehouse - 2062 AlbertStreet.

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 and one more reading after that ...

Saskatoon, McNally Robinson
Tuesday, June 12th ... 7:00 PM

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