More on landscaping

As always, I have some second thoughts about this landscaping business. Kelley, who is doing this design, suggests I'll be able to 'entertain' out there — perhaps have a cookout or something.

But I know that will never happen. No one will ever see this back yard but me.

I'm thinking of this as an opportunity to create my 'Cold Mountain' retreat right here in the 'hood.

There is also some attachment to form here that concerns me. I've been more-or-less content with the yard as it's been, and from a Buddhist perspective, I think, that's a good thing. Now I have this desire to see the yard have a certain appearance and symmetry. Aesthetically, this will be more calming and less stressful. But if I start trying to control and manipulate my environment — over which I ultimately have no control — how much frustration and dissatisfaction am I letting myself in for?

Why can I not see the beauty in this rotted-out Mustang on blocks in the neighbor's driveway? Why must I screen it from my sight? It's ironic, I suppose, that a cluttered person like myself should be offput by someone else's junk.