Abundance. This is going to be the title of my next book. I am now seeing it everywhere.

Our neighbor Jim, he was a hoarder. I would not have said this before he died perhaps because he kept his place pretty tidy. His gardens were also immaculate. I didn’t suspect that he was a hoarder also because he and not what he owned were most visible. I’d go to talk to Jim, not look at his stuff.

Abundance

There is also the misconception that hoarders hoard useless things. Everything Jim owned was useful – the problem is that there was just too much useful stuff.

What’s a person to do with saxophone? Over 30 boxes of jars? Dozens of sleeping bags and tents? A huge closet full of wool and flannel shirts? Cables, cords, electrical apparatus from floor to ceiling? A very old computer. Canned goods going back to the last century? Many vehicles, including a beat-up plow truck, several pick up trucks, and an old Volvo? A crane? Two motorcycles? A complete set of solar panels?

And this is just scratching the surface. I’m sure he had his share of backscratchers too.

I got his books for the book project. And I returned his library books.

Today, Pete got some lumber from which he is going to make a raised bed for Jim’s perennials. He went back for a second load and got more lumber, this for the decking on the black hole.

I went with him on the first trip. I got some enamel cups, which we’ll put into our camping kit, four vases, lilac clippings, which I put in one of the vases, and a soapstone carving of a woman’s face. We’ll put it in the hoop house.

Pete was only interested in getting the wood. I would have liked to have gotten an electrical spool and a garden hand cart. The spool was too difficult to get at and the garden cart was spoken for.

The auctioneer and his daughters had done their jobs – most of Jim’s possessions had already been prepared for auction – the auctioneer had put red flagging around the items that are now up for bid, and the lot number on the flagging.

It bothered me that I could not take anything from the garden – it was in this way off limits. In fact, the whole auction thing bothered me and for the life of me I cannot articulate why.

It would have been easier on his sisters and brother if Jim had not been a hoarder. They would agree with me on this. It just drags out the process of cleaning up his estate.

This much abundance – hard to fathom.

Jim may have been thinking that he needed every single item – there may have been a point at which he sensed that he had far too much stuff but then most likely lacked the energy to part any of it out.

All this, was maybe why I am going through my horse gear, paring it down and cleaning it.

Live and learn, learn and live.

Next: 168. 6/21/22: Solstice