Tag: Dogs

Posted in Sunshine and Happiness

Trash Talk 

Posted on by Part-Time Sunshine

I am a Superfan of Garbage Day. Are you? 

For a small service fee, our garbage collectors stop at the top of my driveway in all weather every single Wednesday to remove our household scraps, junk, and muck. For me, it’s a weekly cleansing opportunity. 

I love taking out the trash. The fresh air and extra steps offer a literal and metaphoric chance to lift my arms of litter and make a difference by getting rid of the sour, the slimy, and the useless. 

In the short span of a week, a lot can pile up, so I’m thrilled to fill my big brown garbage bin to the brim. Do you fill your bin to the brim? Is there a weight limit, you ask? Most residential trucks can lift 300-800 pounds of trash from the standard 95-gallon bin. How do I know this, you wonder? 

Recently. I had the pleasure to take my old garbage man Wil for a walk. I hadn’t seen him in years, since my early morning running days. I knew he still cleaned up my neighborhood though because every December, he sealed his Christmas card in a plastic bag taped to the bin lid. I send one back in the recycled bag with a little Christmas bonus that I make out to One-L-Wil. It’s a cool way to exchange season’s greetings and gratitude. 

So last month, while walking my dogs before work on a Wednesday, Wil and his new helper Joe, came down the hill screeching to a hault. While Joe dumped Mrs. Martin’s trash with an automatic hydraulic side-arm mechanism called a grabber, Wil hopped out of the truck to say hello. We stood and chatted, him shooting the breeze, talking about the weather and our sore knees. 

I said, “I’m a walker now. No more running.”

Wil said, “I walk here and there.” 

“Yeah, I need to finish and go to work.”

“How much further?” Wil asked. 

“The dogs and I have six more minutes.” With that, Wil, in his fluorescent vest, waved off Joe to grab a few more cans to walk down the hill with us. 

We briefed each other about our work, dogs, and recent loss of our mothers. No politics, no religion, no gossip about the neighbors. Just good old trash talk. Joe picked him up at the cul de sac. Sending good thoughts to Wil on his upcoming knee replacements. 

Speaking of replacements, I had to order a new garbage bin because the attached lid broke. 

TO BE CONTINUED…

Posted in Dog Lover, Mother Nature, Sunshine and Happiness

Midsummer Musings

Posted on by Part-Time Sunshine

Happy summer! Happy June 24th which many observe as Midsummer Day. This is a beautiful time to celebrate the season and all the treasures that nature abundantly offers. There are loads of internet links inspiring Midsummer fun such as making a flower crown, building a bonfire, playing lawn games, and taking a walk through the dew. 

I woke early to take that walk. This week, temperatures are in the 90’s, so my neighborhood in Meadville, Pennsylvania, is sultry and sticky. I set the alarm to greet the day at 5:30, sans the stifling heat wave who was napping. 

Georgie, the lab, snouted through yard after yard, inhaling the magical perfumes of wildlife and a trail of elixir left by Midsummer fairies and their unleashed doggies that can fly with their tails wagging as fast as hummingbird wings.

Now, I’d be fibbing if I told you I walked barefoot in the dew. I am rarely barefoot and don’t like wet, grassy feet, but what a sweet image to think of children romping through a field of wildflowers absorbing the night’s nectar. 

But I did stick my fingers into my backyard and pat the dew onto my freckled cheeks, chin, and forehead. I dipped again and dabbed my eyelids, nose, and lips. Legend says that washing your face in the dew of Midsummer Day will bring good luck, good health, beauty, inspiration, and protection from the sun (so does sunscreen which I always wear yet still get sun-kissed). 

The dew is also said to help loosen any inner knots you might have. Personally, since 2020, I’ve been tangled in weeds of words and old, overgrown vines of stories and poems. The trapped weeds rooted themselves deeply and siphoned my creative drops.

Today, I DEW feel better, renewed at this nearly halfway point through the year. I unknotted, breathing writing onto the page and screen, and hitting share, freckles and all. 

If you have some knots, it’s not too late to dip into the magic of the day. 

Thank you for joining. Have a day you dreamed of.