Damned By Faint Praise

It is a beautiful day ! All the rain of last week has brought a verdant green to the grass and bushes . The flowering trees and shrubs compete for glory with the blossoms in the garden beds . All the birds are flirty , bursting into sweet song at the drop of a birdseed . To complete the picture , the hummingbirds are back !!! These tiny feathered jewels lift my heart at every sighting .
And so...where's the relevance of the title ? The quiet of this development was disturbed this morning by the deep rumble of a vintage pickup , cruising the neighborhood . Like the gypsies of my childhood , who would descend upon the community at the first breath of warmer weather for odd jobs (and suspected larceny) , these folks have arrived . The tip-off comes with their slow perusal of the property , the tell-tale backup of the truck and the approach to the front door .
"Excuse me , Ma'am , could you use some help to trim the bushes and clean up a little ?"
The inference is that they are here to come to the aid of one unable to tend to these matters herself...for a fee , of course ! We , living in an adult community , have been warned of such and their tendency to come in pairs , ask to come in to wash up and lighten your load of possessions with their exit . Thanks...but no thanks !
The outdoor cleanup will come when there is someone to watch Mother , while I hack up the unsuspecting bushes with wild abandon ! The weeds tossed from their pilfered real estate , to be replaced with new mulch...the mind picture of the process is akin to a cartoon , with wild music ("Flight of the Bumblebee " ???) . I really do long for the time to bring the plantings into order. There is a certain peace to that labor...being able to actually complete a chore long left undone . And so , despite the judgement by the truck people , I will continue with the task at hand...Mother's care...and fit the other stuff in as best I can .