Garden Gnomes

I got the water back at the house, finally, so the first thing I did was take a shower, then a nap.  Sleeping is one way to escape the heat of the afternoon, at least for me. While I was napping I dreamed that I was a garden gnome, with a half scissor for a sword, and an old sock for a cap.

I learned that the reason gnome caps are red is that they are dipped in the blood of their enemies. I also learned that when you aren't any bigger than a squirrel, pretty much everything in the world is your enemy. It was an odd experience seeing even a well mowed lawn as an obstacle strewn meadow, as this particular yard was full of bur vines and gopher holes deep enough sometimes to hide in. I may end up with a phobia about snakes and raccoons after this dream. Some time near the end of the dream I realized I was pressing keys on a keyboard to cast my spells, and suddenly discovered that I was just playing World of Warcraft with the VR interface tuned all the way up. That was shortly before I realized that I was dreaming and dumped myself completely out of it.

Garden Party

Garden Party

I dreamed that I had just gotten home from work when several of my friends showed up carrying grocery bags and charcoal and picnic hampers. I asked what was going on and they said they had come for my garden party. Well, I was a little shocked by this, since my garden is more than a little neglected these days. 

As more and more people showed up, however, they kept moving the potted plants around and were pushing back the various piles of debris, including completely raking up the long dead grasses. By the time I’d set up the grill and got the bratwurst going, the yard actually looked pretty good.

I handed the cooking chores over to JH and CC. Out front was MA and his wife Z, neither of whom I've seen in at least ten years. They've been pretty busy raising a family, which I assumed was the two young couples and their little ones tagging along behind. I was pretty sure I'd run out of space for everyone, but they went right around back. I greeted another long time friend who's been on the east coast for years, he was in a costume, the shirt of which was pretty much just like the silver and charcoal sleeved shirt I was wearing. I had no idea what movie it was from, but apparently it was the standard outfit of a certain sort of robot butler. We went inside and robot buttled for a few minutes, getting the various empties out into the recycle bins, and getting a couple of comments abut how people didn't know it was a costume party. “it isn't,” I assured them, then went out to see how crowded the back yard was.

The yard wasn't crowded at all, because somehow the hill was gone, and in its place was a rolling green yard with an old wagon just beyond a pool at the end of the property. I visited with folks, all of whom had plenty of room to walk, sit or mingle, until the party died down.

I rocked gently in my re-upholstered sleepy chair, reassured by the familiar click of the all metal mechanism underneath. I rocked almost imperceptibly, soaking in the sublime moment; glad for my recent company, and equally glad for their even more recent absence.

The moon was coming up behind me, quite full, and I could see my shadow stretching out towards the “l” shaped pool of water that hugged an antique but lovingly restored wagon. Silvery moonlight illuminated the pool and reflected off its still surface to perfectly illuminate the now monochrome wagon, making it glow against the darkness beyond. I thought about going in to get my camera, but decided I could do that another night.