Plague Journal, Mulch Festival
Timing is everything, according to the saying. Timing, the right time, a propitious time, the “alignment of stars and planets,” is a key aspect of life. Perhaps it is everything. I cannot say. In the off chance there is a god, and he/she 
could see with exquisite clarity past, present, and future, — and if we could ask the question…. Would the god confess that knowing “when,” insight into the right time to act, a keen sense of proportion, knowing when “enough is enough,” when to move and when to be still — is the secret to god-like execution of purpose and consequent excellence of result? That would be a wager which I’d make.
Anyway it is springtime. I have a pile, 12 yards of fresh mulch in my driveway. The pile of aromatic dark mulch is between four and five feet high. This morning, I will proclaim the beginning of a “Mulch Festival,” which will be several days of wheelbarrow, after wheelbarrow load of mulch, conveyed around the yard, and spread 2 inches deep on the flower beds. Naturally I plan 
to listen to music on my Iphone. Perhaps other family members will join me from time to time. That would make the occasion even more festive.
There is no rule against deriving enjoyment from good work. What is good work? Good work is engagement of mind and body in a task that one has learned by experience how to do. Good work is when the worker has reasonable expectation of benefiting from the expenditure of energy and mental focus upon the task. It matters little whether the task is as menial as moving mulch. Or whether the task is fraught with global consequence as developing a vaccine to immunize millions against a deadly virus. Are we not all inspired by and live for good work?
And a final word: Kindness shared removes friction, a key to “good work.”
“How can I help?”
The photos were taken in the last 48 hours. The tiny green leaves and florete are of a maple tree. The burgundy leaflets are of a purple smoke bush.
