Category: Very Short Story

It’s been a little over a year now that we’ve moved to a rural suburb.
The property was neglected so there is much work still left to do.

Last year’s oppressive summer was an eye opener for living on a hill that faces south. It gets hot. Hotter than other positions, but you just learn to live with it and move forward. I’m two months into retirement and we are working diligently to get the property back into shape.

Last year into the heart of summer, it became clear that a certain Spanish lavender was on the edge. It had become a mass of dead wood with a few sprigs of leaves eeking their way out into the world. We made the decision to give it a last go at life.
With that, I cut the plant back, removing dead wood and anything that was not contributing to the overall health of the plant. Very little of the original plant was left. We were both very sad for what we had to do. The little thing was trying, but it was sending too much energy for zero return for its efforts.
We’ve fed and watered it over the last 10 months, taking care to pay special attention to it. A little nurturing can go a long way. The winter/spring afforded lots of rain and gave the plant the confidence it needed. That lavender is well over three times the mass of what was left. It’s leaves are robust and healthy and it’s flowers call the bees and hummingbirds in.
It’s funny how something seemingly dead can be brought back to life, if only it first recognizes the need to rid itself of all the superfluous things that devour its energy and yet produces nothing. We can be like that too, no?