We were about two hours into the process of loading up the truck, when Mike's good friend Tim said what all of us had been realizing but no one seemed quite ready to say it.
"Peggy, you and Mike need to start prioritizing what goes into the truck from this point on as to what you will really need when you get there. I'm pretty sure the rest of this stuff will have to go into storage for the time being."
And Tim was right. We were in big trouble as far as enough space in the back of that truck went. All of a sudden we were racing against the clock and the uncertain weather with not nearly enough room for everything that was set to go with us to our new home here in north central Texas. So between the raindrops and bites of pizza for lunch, that steadfast crew of workers determined a way to haul the remaining things over to Tim's shed for the time being. Later on this month, our good friends, Mary and Keith and their children, will hook up a 12 foot trailer to their truck and head our way as they deliver all of the things that we could not bring with us. Although we don't even remember what all there is back there in Montrose, we do have a pretty good idea. All of our yard things, including pots, outdoor decorations, and tools are amongst the things we had to leave behind that day. How happy we will be to finally see everything here once again in just 3 weeks more.
In the meantime we continue on here in Burkburnett and for the past couple of mornings we have taken a break from work on the inside of our new house and concentrated our efforts outdoors for a bit. With little room in the back of the truck, Mike decided to give away his mower to his friend Bob. So once we got here, it was apparent that we needed to get a mower pretty quickly. The yard at our new house hadn't been cared for in some time, so Mike bought a sprayer with weed killer and went to work. After spraying and mowing a couple of times, the front and back lawn looks so much better. This morning we decided that we would try to plant the flower seeds that we had brought with us from Montrose. It seemed awful late to even get a start but what the heck? Why not give it a try? After all, in this formerly (as of two weeks ago) drought stricken area of the world no one really had flowers to begin with. So the Renfros began a new tradition called "you can plant your seeds as late as you want to".
One thing I learned very quickly was just how red the soil here is in this part of the country. This is definitely "the land of red dirt" and I've got the soiled sneakers to prove it. The soil felt so good in my hands as I pulled out the weeds while Mike ran the shovel through it. I had been used to trying to grow things for the last two years in the clay soil of Colorado with little success. I am sure that I must have had a smile on my face as I ran my fingers through the dirt. I told Mike that this soil reminded me of Kansas and he understood what I was trying to tell him. For two growing seasons he has heard his new wife complain of how hard it was to get anything started in the Colorado soil. Mike is a very good sport about stuff and for that I am very thankful.
We only had time to turn up a small patch of dirt, big enough for 3 rows of our favorite seeds that were gathered last autumn. There were no fancy pieces of rocks or sticks or much anything else around to mark the rows with but I did remember that Mike had picked up some paint sticks when he was at the store. I found them inside and they sufficed quite well. Maybe, just maybe if we are lucky, the rains will come and the sun will shine down on that little plot of earth. In the weeks to come, I hope that we will see some beautiful hollyhock coming forth whose seed was gleaned from a patch of flowers in Ridgway, Colorado last October. In front of those tall and stately flowers, there will hopefully be some zinnias and marigolds of a wide variety of colors. That little piece of ground probably won't produce the kind of flowers they are looking for to grace the cover of a magazine, but that won't matter.
What matters is this.
We planted them.
I think this morning that Mike and I must have done the equivalent of writing our names in the soil of this land. By turning up that little area for planting, it is as if we have staked our claims in this place sometimes called "Boomtown." Neither of us are totally sure of what will happen in the future for us here although little by little it seems as if we are being shown.
We learn a little bit about this place and a whole lot more about ourselves each and every day. Our spirits are good and we remain steadfast in our decision to leave the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and begin a new life on the Texas plains. Every day people ask us why on earth we would have left the beautiful mountains to have come here to Burkburnett. With a smile on our faces, our answer to them is always the same.
Why not?
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