our new P O O P E R scooper

My {German} neighbor was out mowing their yard this evening. At the same time, her husband was tilling up their garden plot. Emotionally, it's set me back just a little bit. Ok, I'm really sad- it's making me so homesick for Kansas. I've gone a few weeks {maybe even a month} without crying, but I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes over this.

I'm missing it all- our land, our garden, our acreage, my flowers. That's what we are supposed to be doing. If there is one thing we love to do about this time of year- it's yard work. Mowing, planting, weeding, seeding, tilling, pruning, planning... all of it.

Last week when I put my little pots of flowers out, I told Jim that was it. I said I wouldn't spend another dime on flowers. I'm going to have to go back on my word- I just can't do it. I have tried and it's been torture. I miss the dirt and the work and the fresh air.

Taking a walk or hike every day is great, but there is nothing like weeding the garden or deadheading the flowers in my pots or watering.

Oh, watering. I love to water. I've been in trouble more times that I can count {with my dad} for leaving the sprinklers on while living at home. I think I was a pretty good kid, but I loved to run water. Jim kind of let me do my thing knowing it was easier to let it go than to try to reason with me. Without a sprinkler system in Kansas, I had plenty of room to continually move my sprinklers around pretty much around the clock. There's not much more beautiful to me than a freshly mowed, groomed, super green front yard.

Without a yard to work in I've decided I'm going to have the most beautiful, overflowing flower pots next to our front door- on our entire Hauptstrase. Caden and I are heading back tomorrow for more. 

Everytime I step outside now that the German wife is out, she immediately says, Hallo or waves or smiles- first. I can't figure it out. I did add a little Willkommen to our front door- maybe that's it. I I don't think I've ever yearned for acceptance or approval from someone as much as I have here. It's the craziest thing. Usually, I just do my thing and I'm not easily offended. Here, I just want them to know who we are and what we are like- that we're more like them than they'll ever know. We work hard and have pride in ownership. We are good people.

While outside yesterday, I decided to scoop poop while Jim was brushing Lady out. Johannes saw me, came over and handed me a pooper scooper {the genuine thing, not just a plain old shovel}. He motioned how to use it and let me know he didn't need it- that I could keep it. I was so happy- how stupid is that? All for a rusty old pooper scooper- so dumb.

I wasn't so happy for the actual pooper scooper itself, but that he saw us out there keeping things up- making it look better. The fact that he came over to talk to us. I'm ordering prints of our land and house in Kansas to make in to an album so I can go show them how nice we can make a yard and even a garden look. While on order, I'll be working on new pots for our front door. Ridiculous, I know.