Work is tiring

In the night the rain fell in sheets and waves, heavy then pittering. By morning my sloggy brain ignored the need for money and hoped that the rain would continue to fall and end our day of work before allowing it the chance to begin. At 6:55AM I sprang out of bed in a terror carried over from a dream of having slept until noon. With 5 minutes to continue sleeping before the alarm's cry, I laid back down and slept for 20. The rude shock of awakening didn't depart until an hour into the work.


A gated community of 5 homes. A multitude of yard tasks that would not involve weeding. And for the first time since arriving, a day of unadulterated sun. The breathtaking view from the back deck were not obscured by clouds or vog, allowing us to gaze upon the ocean, harbor, mountainside and a rarely seen horizon. The leaves of the Kukio nut tree were the first collection, landed in the bed of a pickup. A nice easy start breeds complacency and staves off sedition. The sweat started to collect on my shirt and in my bandanna. Our next task brought us into the shade one terrace down from the house, and into the air. Guava trees were shooting limbs forth whose lack of transparency was ruining the view. Into the trees we climbed to prune and saw and hack. What amazing trees! Not only was the trunk a beautiful medley of mottled, but the wood is surprisingly strong. Trees of lesser strength would not have allowed us to step out onto such small limbs without repercussions of falling. I snagged a couple of short lengths of wood from the pile to bring home. And thus began the pruning: guava, banana, mango, avocado (2 types) and a bunch of other trees and plants whose names I can't recall. If it's growing down, snip it. Just above the collar. 


Sugar cane was uprooted along with ginger and some gawdawful pointy plant. Birds of paradise fell before our clippers. A banana tree and a papaya tree were destructed. I've not shed so much sweat in a long time and the stink coming off me blunted alluded to my need for a shower. Water went down, seeped out, and was replaced repeatedly. After 7 hours I was whupped. A pile of decimated foliage 5 feet long and 5 feet high lay aside the house, until we jammed it into the pick up. None of us thought it would fit. My jumping up and down on top of it may have helped. 


Thus ended our first day of paid work (with a tip!). Our tip was not only given in cash. A sack of lemons, a sack of starfruit and 2 green coconuts also left with us. Gotta love the abundance of the tropics. 


Instead of rushing home to feed the begging ducks, the car made its way into town to the Sack N Save. Somehow, an 18-pack of cold Coronas ended up in the back seat of the car! No one inside cared that we stunk and were covered with dirt and banana sap (impossible to get out of clothes. Avoid it). In fact, dirtier people were also retrieving cold beverages. 


Back at the farm we retreated to the downstairs sitting area with cold beers and cold french fries. Amazingly enough, sleep did not overtake us (then). Working tomorrow will not be easy. These muscle of mine haven't done much manual labor in quite a while. Maybe I'll sleep in a bit...