it's raining ... handymen

Bunny Dressing - Michael Sowa

It's Raining HandyMen! Hallelujah! - It's Raining HandyMen! Amen!
sing along girls ...

and it's also just plain raining this early morning, more hard, steady, straight down, pouring rain. And later in the day more heavy rain in the forecast combined with the leftover high winds of hurricane Hannah. Yesterday around lunchtime, as I stood in the kitchen shelling peas and trimming yellow and green beans, a gigantic Dodge Ram black pick up truck pulled up in front of my house. I knew in instant it was Carl (avec young son in law) Yeah ! - dependable, reasonable, can-do-anything and will-do-anything, no job too small, no job too difficult, perfectionist and of course a man extremely difficult to pin down as you can imagine - the handiest of handymen is tres busy.

First on les agenda my leaking sun porch roof - and especially with more rain and Hannah bearing down on us. Pas problem, with extension ladder and bucket o' tar in hand they were up on the roof like the roof top sprites they are known to be. Roofing is Carl's main side line. He also has a full time job. He's just one of those hard workin' guys, you know that rare and endangered species that can't relax and can only complete a job in the most perfect of manners. Hallelujah! My roof is now newly patched with blobs of tar so Hannah and all her potential fury will not and cannot bring me down. I will now enjoy her wrath in between hoping and praying that one of my gigantic trees doesn't come crashing down on us. But mostly, trust me, I will enjoy Hannah. Remember I myself am a dark and stormy cloud.

Then we (Carl, son-in-law and me) strolled on into les overgrown jungle. You see my problem is and has been (for 15 years) I don't like to kill anything. When I plant seeds - I have a hard time thinning them - I kid you not. I have trees growing everywhere in my yard. Trees growing where trees should never be. I have a grape like vine covering half of my roof. I have just let this big property go ... just be ... nature I said ... be whatever it is you want to be. I now totally see the err of my ways. It's become a wild and very tangled mess. One that now requires men with machines and that burning pioneer like, male desire to clear land. And I've found them. Hallelujah! There was lots of talk of small tractors and dozers and pushing and moving. More chat of chainsaws and chippers and chopping. Are you sure you want to keep that large lilac bush? asks Carl Hmm mmm, sure do ! I nod. He tells me proudly that he has 12 acres and not one tree and I reply Baby steps ... please. I could see the glint in Carl's eye (you gotta love a glint) as he pictured what my yard, or this first section, would look like when he was done with it. So ... the day's, this fall, that it's too wet for roof top sprites to be roofing ... they'll be in my yard clearing. One section at a time.

I gotta get my etsy shop up and running - gotta pay for those darn dozers and dozers don't come cheap.

I pray that the dog who lives in the far way land is cozy and dry this very wet and rainy morning. No sounds, no barking and no crying, do I hear from across our harbour.

I'm in love with this painting. It was very difficult to find much info on Michael Sowa (b 1945). He has illustrated many books and thankfully poster size prints of his work and specifically this magical painting are available here.


detail - sigh ! how beautiful is this