Hot as Hades

Day Two of The Pond Project: Day One (yesterday) went very well, but I was too exhausted last night to write about it. Note the picture here – this is what it feels like outside working all day. The good news is, I’m sure I’ve lost a little weight in sweat.

The new smaller pond was created and so far it is holding water! Cross your fingers. Here it is, also showing the new lattice that I’m putting up for vines and privacy against the back fence.

The bigger, remaining part of the pond was cleaned out, rubber liner removed completely and sand put in the bottom. Three cinderblocks were put in place as the beginning of the structure for the steps down into it, we had to purchase more today. We haven’t taken out part of one side yet to create an opening into the yard, but that will come later.

I had to move a Holly Fern into a place where it totally looks much better, then I had to move a large Cast Iron Plant into the place vacated by the Holly Fern. It looks SO much better; those Cast Irons can really look Tropical when they are full, and now this is very full. I’m glad I did that move, even if I wasn’t creating a new patio out of the pond.

During this plant swap, I uncovered a sweet yellow gladiolus that was in full bloom, hidden under overgrowth of cast iron plants and doing its best to show up. It is so gorgeous (pix later) that I snipped it off and I have it in a vase inside to enjoy for a few days.

Last night, when it cooled off to 95, I sat outside and looked at the creation. I’m letting my mind wander with ideas about paver designs, though I haven’t settled on anything yet. I need a bit more inspiration, which I know will come in time.

At the end of that respite, I finally decided it was time to call it a day and go inside the house to cool down and shower off the layers of grime and sweat. As I walked into the door, two Yellow Jacket Wasps stung the fool out of my arm. Dammit!

I went inside, applied a cool baking soda paste to my arm, and sat down with an icepack for a bit. I found the appropriate homeopathic in my cabinet – Apis – and began taking that. After the stinging subsided a bit, I took my shower, then once again sat down with an ice pack and cold water.

So that ended the day yesterday, which really irritated me. Sleeping was uncomfortable because of my achy arm, and I woke up with it stiff and sore and hard to move it because of the swelling. But I had to go outside first thing and check out the work again (you know how that goes) and as soon as I walked out the back door – BAMMM! – I got stung yet AGAIN! This time on the wrist.

Now I’m totally pissed off; I head inside to take more homeopathics, baking soda poultice and ice pack; this time I resort to the antihistamines as well.

My arm is now entirely swollen and hard to work with. The toxins are making me very irritable, as is the heat and sweat. It’s still sweltering outside today, but work continues on a new pathway that I’m going to fill with stepstones surrounded by recycled colored glass mulch free from the city, and putting up more lattice on the back fence for privacy vines. Also fixing a gate in the fence that is hard to close and annoys me everytime I go through it.

This heat is horrible; it feels so unfair for us to have this already this summer. Several years ago I escaped the heat and moved to the mountains of Colorado for five years. While I adored the weather, I just missed Austin the City way too much, and moved back here. I’ve earned the right to complain about the summer heat, I think. As all of us have.

Anyway, pix of the new work will follow once I cool off tonight. Back to work now.