In my garden, I look out on cream
and plum-colored dahlias, tiny blue lobelias, tomatoes, basil, and a crisscross
of green plastic rope that spans the back lawn. It’s our solar dryer. Some call
it a clothesline.
Visitors chuckle, noting that their
mothers or grandmothers used to hang laundry. Our 4-year-old grandson,
Ryan, lets us know that his mother has a washer and dryer. So do we, we told him, but when we hang the wash, the sun is our dryer and on a summer day, it does a pretty good job.
My friend Judy, who sells real
estate, seems slightly appalled at the sight of sheets and underwear gracing
the backyard. “You could never do that if your house were on the market!” she says.
Others admire our dedication to the environment, but say they couldn’t possibly
take the time to hang wash.
The truth: Taking the time is why I
do it. Years ago, when my children were small, I started hanging sheets in the
summertime because I loved the fresh fragrance of air-dried linens. Later, as I
became environmentally conscious, I recognized that a clothes dryer consumes
quite a bit of electrical power and can heat a home on a hot summer day. But
those are no longer my main reasons. Now it’s about slowing down. As I pin the
clothes, I listen to the singing mockingbirds, watch a spinning hummingbird and
I pause, imbibing the sounds, scents and shades that fill my garden: rosemary
for remembrance, lavender for quietude, thyme for meditation.
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