Saturday is a great day for a family barbeque.  Saturday is also my day for outside chores: mowing lawns, trimming and pruning the plants, cleaning the garage, and I get great satisfaction in seeing the fruits of my labor when I am done working.  Manning the family barbeque on a Saturday afternoon gives me the chance to view my back yard kingdom at its finest moment of the week, and to reflect on how lucky I am.

It was the time during the dinner preparation when I was alone by my BBQ; the family was inside putting the finishing touches on the on the table setting and side dishes, and the meat needed a couple more minutes on the grill.  I was inwardly and outwardly smiling while I surveyed the yard.  The pool was clean; from my vantage point the water appeared a deep turquoise blue, the waterfall and spa, surrounded by palm trees, bird of paradise, and lilacs look like a scene from a Hawaiian post card.  To my right are more palm trees and ferns, overgrowing the ceramic pots they live in, nestled under the branches of an apple tree.  The green lawn is a living contrast to the pebbled concrete separating it from the pool.  I like my yard; I am at peace here.  

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