Reasons to be cheerful

Before I retired, I had a clear idea of how I would structure my days to include more regular writing, but I discovered that it takes a lot more discipline to put fingers to the keyboard as part of a daily routine.

Spending more time at Towerwater as our primary residence, meant that we were now immediately part of any arising issue that affects the property.  Although we are safeguarded from outside issues affecting the inside of the property, the garden on the roadside alongside the picket fence seems to be in constant danger of upheaval.  I have become the manager of the gazanias and spekbome on the roadside along the picket fence. I think it is because I can deal with upsetting situations in a calm manner, and because I speak the Taal (Afrikaans).

The first threat to the gazanias and spekbome was when the local municipality retarred the streets on two sides of the property. The old tar on the street next to the roadside garden was mechanically lifted and removed, leaving the gazanias and spekbome covered in a thick layer of black dust. Although we rinsed it off regularly, I had no idea how it will affect the quality of the soil in future. Every afternoon I had to remove temporary road signs that were moved out of the road and onto the gazanias. Although the threat to the garden on the roadside was frustrating, living in a municipality that was maintaining and improving our road infrastructure was actually a reason to be cheerful.

The second threat to the gazanias and spekbome was when the local fibre company had to replace a fibre line on the pole next to the picket fence. Apparently, a neighbour’s dogs chewed through the unprotected fibre line against the pole in her property. The line damage in question was located two houses across the road away from us, but because the main fibre line was affected, all connecting lines had to be replaced, as fibre lines cannot be repaired.

I was able to assist and guide the contractors to reduce the impact on the roadside garden. I could guide them where to look for the line and by cutting back the spekbome near the pole on the roadside myself, I ensured that the plants would grow back correctly. I could prevent them from unnecessarily digging up large patches of gazanias, looking for the line by guiding them to precisely where I remember the previous contractors had buried it. What started out as an irritating exercise ended with the possibility of connecting to a working fibre line for uninterrupted wi-fi. The possibility of stronger wi-fi connection was another reason to be cheerful.

The third threat to the gazanias and spekbome was when a mobile crane came to lift an Izuzu pickup truck out of our property that had crash-landed onto the parking terrace. This amazing feat was accomplished by having sufficient speed to fly over the almost 3-meter-wide irrigation canal after mounting the street curb. The reported intention was to make a turn down the street which is parallel to the canal. One leg of the crane had to be placed in the bed of gazanias, squashing them in the process.  The damage to the gazanias was inevitable, but the fact that we had a heap of building stone chips in the parking terrace that stopped the pickup truck from causing damage to the pergola and our almost vintage pickup truck close by, was a reason to be cheerful.

The fourth threat to the gazanias and spekbome was when the municipality came to replace the main water pipes of the town that run underground on the roadside. To be confronted by a digger-loader ripping up the cobbled driveway to your property without any warning is not a pleasant experience. There was no way to control what was happening as the digger-loader casually ripped through the roadside, the newly tarred road, and the garden. I tried to keep the replacement pipes, that were waiting to be installed, off the remaining gazanias where they were dumped. We decided to allow the municipality to complete the projects before we attempt to restore the roadside garden and cobbled driveway. Firstly, the municipality needs to replace the stormwater gutters and repair the freshly tarred road that was ripped up. After weeks of daily interrupted water supply and road closures, we could start 2025 with what will hopefully be a more secure water supply in the future. And that is good cause to be cheerful.

We would have liked to see more coordinated change where municipal services are concerned. Seeing one contractor undo the work that was completed by another a mere three weeks before is frustrating. Particularly when it impacts one’s life in so many ways. After more than six months of what feels like an unrelenting effort by outside forces to destabilise our lives and outside gardens, we have resigned ourselves to the fact that change is inevitable and sometimes beneficial. These are all factors out of our control and although disruptive, it does change our lives for the better in the long run. At Towerwater we will always find reasons to be cheerful.

May the major upheaval we experienced towards the end of last year herald a relaxed and peaceful 2025.