Story Info
Story Info
Robin Blakeman
My home
2021
Type of Wounded Place
Story & Experience
I have a love/hate relationship with my backyard, which is admittedly “overgrown” with what some would call weeds & small trees. It is also beautiful in terms of being a shady green space. I do what I can to maintain it, but lately have had little time to do anything other than a bit of mowing once a week. Part of the reason I had less time to do yard work this year was because of a horse named Roman. We fostered and then adopted Roman during the past winter. In April, he got sick with colic—a life threatening condition for horses. We lost him in very late April and I am still heartbroken. I had saved some of his tail hair and decided that burying some it in our back yard was a good idea today.
I have a love/hate relationship with my backyard, which is admittedly “overgrown” with what some would call weeds & small trees. It is also beautiful in terms of being a shady green space. I do what I can to maintain it, but lately have had little time to do anything other than a bit of mowing once a week. Part of the reason I had less time to do yard work this year was because of a horse named Roman. We fostered and then adopted Roman during the past winter. In April, he got sick with colic—a life threatening condition for horses. We lost him in very late April and I am still heartbroken. I had saved some of his tail hair and decided that burying some it in our back yard was a good idea today.
Why this Place?
My home
I chose this place – my backyard – because I spent a lot of time there last year (while home during the pandemic), but am now having to work and travel away from home more frequently, so the backyard is getting a little neglected.
Act of Beauty
Say more about your actions and activity
I first cut some weeds out of a flower garden area; I inherited the flowers in this garden from a friend/mentor/co-worker named Diane, who passed away from cancer several years ago. I thought this was an excellent place to release some of Roman’s tail hairs and, as I buried them, I remembered a picture of Diane – in her youth – riding a horse. After shedding some tears for both Diane & Roman, I prayed that somehow they might find each other in the afterlife. That gave me some comfort. I also found a small angel figurine in my back yard and placed it at the spot where Roman’s tail hairs were buried, and put a few tail hairs into a wicker ball that holds bits of things birds might use to build nests in and around my yard.
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