Deck life

The inviting sound of birds rise before the sun, mingling with the chime near my bedroom. Still in my nightgown, I bring the sink pitcher or shower water that would otherwise be a 2-min-long wastage before reaching its optimal temperature to water bamboo plants, rose bushes, ferns and my lemon tree. I find a spot lit by the rising sun to install myself with fruit, coffee and a journal (either my dream journal if the night was rich in symbolism to decipher, my notebook, or my ''poetizer''). If I have time before work, I go on a 30-min walk around the neighborhood. Then, I step onto the deck again for lunch, and even dinner, and everything in between when it is the weekend and I am homebound. It is hard for me to think about my childhood and all the days of struggle my mother had as she nagged us go play outside. I am incredulous as I look back on my university days when I would sacrifice fresh air to study, not realizing then that walking in nature was essential to my mental wellbeing. Eventually, I appreciated inhabiting any balcony space that my apartment would offer. As a young mother, if there was no such space, I would simply put my baby on a carrier and bring a picnic to the nearest trail or park bench.

Now, with this house, eating outside has become the default. Even when the temperature is really hot, outdoors is more comfortable because of the shaded areas. And there comes always a time when a breeze shows up. Having another level above the pool offers a view that is perfect for meditation as I watch the sunset. Until then, it is comfortable to sit there and flip through magazines (I kept country-style decoration magazines and like to rediscover them, noticing new details for creative inspiration that had not caught my eye the first, second or even third time). 

A February 2001 issue of Country Home I got for free at a kind
of flea market in storage units nearby.
I also have older copies of similar publications

I also do some painting or gluing projects outside too, of course. And since I do not have a dryer, I put my clothes on a drying rack on the deck. In this summer weather, it takes about one hour to dry most clothes. During the winter, I still step onto the deck, for instance in the evening when I need to admire a full moon or a bright constellation before going to sleep.

When I am lucky, being next to my home rather than sheltered in it (and wearing sunscreen and a hat to avoid premature aging !), I get to hear or see hummingbirds, or even a fox. There is also a black cat who seems to be a regular, and frequent squirrels. I even have seen a skink and several mini lizards. The background décor of this eclectic ménagerie consists of plants and bushes I haven't managed to kill yet and beautiful oleanders overflowing from the neighbors' property.

Sometimes, it is simply about ''setting the table nicely'' to see a picnic made of unexpected combination of food items land onto the tablecloth or feel spirit animals brighten de fabric of our souls. So has been my deck life in my home these past two years. I find that when we are ready, open-minded and uncluttered by expectations, we find abundance in creativity and gratitude for this infinite web of enchantments !

Simple yet delicious lunch on a weekend at
The House of Enchantments