Tag: Gardening

The Morning of

Posted on by Kilian Ateh

– 9:15 am

Your maternal grandmother, Julia and I are gardeners. I’m using the simplest meaning of the word as neither of us owns a garden. But we’d love to. We always talk about our love of earth and ground, having it in between our fingers…

Growing up through boarding school, we were assigned plots of farmland. I had ten farm beds and worked using a short handle hoe, the type that requires you to really break your back. It took time to appreciate the land, nature, life and survival. it took time to find peace and enjoyment in outdoor solitude. I would love to own a farm I don’t necessarily have to live off of, a farmhouse.

Today, however, Julia and I garden without a garden. They have a well-lit top-floor flat in Riga which welcomes pot plants, unlike our ground and lower-ground duplex where plants forcefully come to retire and die. It’s a cemetery. Many have come, but very few are left. And it saddens me. So I stopped buying them.

The last time she visited, I got a bay tree delivered not long after she left. Its leaves are still green on the prison-cell size patio. It’s pretty low maintenance and I haven’t had to do as much as I would with other flowery plants. I’m pretty happy looking at it every day though.

In general, I love craftsmanship and using my hands. I’ve imagined myself living in Japan, under the tutelage of a shoemaker, tailor or carpenter. Every time I look into who I am, and the things I like, I rekindle a fondness for solitary crafts (and activities) that require as few people as possible. I’m a loner.

Ah! That’s how! I remember why she bought a bay tree. I was slow cooking some oxtail – it’s a staple in this house – and didn’t have my usual dried bay leaves to toss in. This was her answer to it. An endless supply of bay leaves.

Just a sec, the door just buzzed. I should get that. I think the Crosstown doughnuts are here.

You’ll meet Rozalia soon. She’s best friends with your mother. She’s organising a baby shower today at the house. In fact, she’s in a cab on her way here. I’m speed typing so I can get ready. She needs my help… To be honest, I am unsure what needs doing. There are guests coming so I’m anticipating some light catering.

So this morning around eight – I don’t sleep much – I saw, for the very first time, a fox snoozing on the fake grass astroturf next to the bay tree. For reasons currently unknown to me, it’d dug up a hole in the pot housing the bay tree, emptying the ground on the turf in a neat pile. So odd. Even weirder it did it today. I also have no evidence the fox is the culprit, just piecing 1 and 2 together. Anyway, gotta go.

A foxy visit

PS – Is that a little human nature artfully drew on the bottom centre of the bay tree pot? I’m seeing things.

Bits and pieces

Posted on by Kilian Ateh

– 9:17 am

I woke up at about six this morning, and couldn’t get back to sleep. Nothing new. So I decided to start the Sunday early.

Work on the kitchen was completed Thursday. We spent that evening and bits of Friday putting things back into new homes. Good thing we’d boxed everything properly in the first place with clear labels etc. So the job was easy enough. They’ll install the worktop in a fortnight. For now, we have (temporary) thin boards across the kitchen top. But it renders the kitchen functional which we longed for. So we won’t be pernickety about it. (I learned that word from your mother. She’ll probably laugh if she gets to read this someday).
The fitter left a pile of trash in the “garden” which should be collected tomorrow.

I spent most of yesterday filling in the holes the previous kitchen shelf left in the wall. Once done, I painted off most of the stains in and around that area, especially around light switches. They had dirty fingers all over them. My last thought as I went off to bed was how visibly bumpy the filling had been. Annoying mini mountains on the wall. They’ll need a thorough sanding down.

So this morning, I bought a Bosch sander which should be delivered by ten this evening, as promised by Amazon. I love a Bosch product, got a couple already. (Your mother is obsessed with the TV series). I’ll work that wall till it’s smooth and unnoticeable.

We got to the Farmer’s Market around one. Late for a Saturday. Most of the stalls were closing and packing away. So there really wasn’t much to see beyond folding tables and things being thrown into vans. We got some a shit tonne of cheese and left. From home, we drove to Moat Farm to get Simon’s eggs and catch some air. While at it, we bought some grass-like plants to replace the dying ones at home. (Contrary to my advice, your grandmother bought a bunch of plants which have now died. Lavender, thyme, some flowery plants… RIP)

“Packing a hospital bag” was also on yesterday’s checklist. A couple of T-shirts, some underwear, a pair of shorts and chinos. Done. I also tossed in the Nintendo I never play. I bought it under the illusion I could fabricate some time or use it on long-haul flights. Or flights of any kind. Neither has happened. It’s more of a knick-knack now if I’m being truthful. But the dream lives on. Maybe I’ll get lucky when your mother’s giving birth. Even writing it now sounds absurd.

I just heard the curtains draw open. Liza’s up. And walking down the stairs. Time to hide this screen. I just kissed her bump you good morning. She requested some coffee which I just made. So now she’s trying to figure out her breakfast. Same as always I imagine –granola, yoghurt… I brought some honey back from Cameroon which she can’t part ways with. It goes into everything. It does taste great to be fair.

Last night, Liza complained about the fake contractions and the discomfort they bring. Unfortunately, the physical part of pregnancy is a solo ride. The rest of us can just observe and be present. It’s a silent, passive but equally important role in itself.

Summer creature that she is, this heat is fatiguing for her to be or walk in. The other day, the strap in her sandals snapped from her feet swelling so much. But we both agree to sunshine over Winter any day of the week.

Last week Dr Erskine repeated you’re nowhere near coming out. Friday gone made you 38 weeks.

Ah yeah, I bought a Dyson – the V11 Absolute Plus, brand new on eBay. A cordless vacuum cleaner, easy on the wrist and manoeuvrable. It’s by contrast something that doesn’t require you dragging out a hoover to clean small messes (like the ones created by babies). As is the case with most Dyson products, it’s multifunctional and extremely versatile.

However, it came with the wrong wall mount. So I spent more time than I would’ve liked to, trying to figure out why it didn’t fit before coming to that conclusion. This is after tinkering with the stand we bought for it and googling around helplessly for whys. Right after emailing the seller, I bought a replacement which should arrive Monday. Hopefully, he – could be she – refunds me enough to cover the replacement purchase. At least some of it.

Side note, I wonder what happened to the person we had to make an emergency landing for. I hope they’re OK.

Other tasks await. Must go. BBQ later. Ciao.