I’m 82 with a lot on my plate. At the top of the list is caring for my family in Myanmar and Laos. Then there is Ginger, my Irish Setter. The third item is caring for myself. I don’t want to kick the bucket, not so much just for myself but for my family and Ginger. Therefore, every day I spend 30 minutes in the sauna, 15 minutes in the whirlpool sauna, and 30 minutes on my elliptical trainer.

I also care for my flowerbeds. I have spent several days each week during the summer as a day laborer trimming the trees, evergreens, and shrubs in the backyard. Once that was accomplished, I set my goal on thinning out hostas, regular irises, and Siberian Irises. All three plants share a common drive, which is to take over flowerbeds. I have spent more time in the blazing sun as a day laborer thinning those plants than trimming the trees, evergreens, and shrubs.

I have several friends who have gotten two large loads of each plant already this summer. They are very appreciative of my gifts. Each time, I smile and think to myself that in several years, my plants will attempt to take over their flowerbed. Then, they will rue the day they planted them.

Each time I thin out the plants and drop them off at my friends, I return home and look at my flower beds. It doesn’t look like I accomplished much for all the hours in the hot sun. However, I just finished my third thinning-out effort as a day laborer. Finally, I have taken control of the backyard.

This video shows me digging up the Siberian Irises. The soil must be saturated with water before even starting. Without the water, digging up Siberian Irises is like digging up a cement patio.

This is the video dealing with removing the regular irises.

Digging up hostas isn’t a back-breaking issue. I can be down with a small garden trowel. After removing each set of plants, I had three sections on the lawn, each containing one of the groups of plants. This video is of me placing the hostas into three white garbage bags, one for each of my friends. I carefully weighed each of the three bags to ensure each friend received the same amount.

Next was the bagging of the regular irises.

I dropped off my third load of plants, which completely filled my car’s trunk. When I drove to with my carload of plants, I avoided the road that goes past Home Depot. ICE sits there every day looking for undocumented immigrants. I don’t want to find myself on a plane to one of El Salvador’s 25 detention centers like CECOT.

Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, photo op at CECOT

While I have a tattoo on my arm, I’m not a member of MS-13. My tattoo is a version of Picasso’s Don Quixote and Sancho.