Today

I thought I smelled cut grass.

Now, there are no lawns in the near neighborhood. There’s an expressway. There are many construction sites, but lawn??? Not so much.

After the first whiff, I wondered if perhaps there was some mysterious poisonous gas that would kill us all, starting with the babies. But I’d never heard of poisonous gas smelling like fresh cut grass. Then I wondered if my new downstairs neighbor had miraculously turned what once was a dark and dingy well of a tiny backyard full of buggy weeds into a lawn… I didn’t think so, but I had to check. So I went out to my deck to see.

Her little back courtyard is no longer full of weeds. It’s a cute and shady spot for barbecues and reading the sunday paper and maybe even planting some shade loving flowers. So cute. But no grass.

But by then, I had forgotten about the grass smell and thought I would do something about my deck. It’s so disheveled. So I did. I rearranged the chairs and grill and tables and various pots of weeds, black earth, random flowers and herbs into a more pleasing layout. I left a corner bare so that we can set up a wading pool for the little guys. Maybe I can even invite some moms and toddlers over for a dip and lemonade (spiked with tequila for the moms, maybe.)

The deck is not done. It’s still rag taggle eclectic—which I don’t mind. A kind of Brooklyn deck via English garden and sidewalk scavenge. But I think there is some kind of order now to the mish mosh of pots and chairs and interesting finds.

I might stop by the hardware store, where they have opened up a little garden store in the backyard, and buy a couple pots of something bright and colorful. I’m thinking some green and pink coleus.

Maybe I actually can have a pleasant and relaxing deck this summer… not some day off in the future.

See more progress on: spend more time outside on my deck