Clothes on the line represent summer to me. I love to hang up my clothes for many reasons. It's cheaper, I can do more laundry in a shorter period of time, its better for the environment and gentler on the clothes. But its more than that. I look forward to that first warm, dry Saturday when I can hang my first load. All my dogs have known when I start for the door, basket in hand, we are going to have some "quality" time. I throw a ball, place a pin, grab another piece, the cycle repeats. I look at the insects around me, observe the birds in the air. When the boys were babes, I'd wonder at the smallness of their clothes - and yes - I used cloth diapers and hung them on the line, though by then most people were using disposables. When September comes, I am starting to get tired of hauling basket after basket outside, though I still hang up my clothes inside during the winter. But never fail, that first beautiful day, I am in my back yard hanging up my clothes. Many newer housing developments have deed restrictions excluding clotheslines. I could never live in a neighborhood like that. And who knows, with global warming and sky high energy prices, maybe I am ahead rather than behing the curve. Maybe they will start requiring homes to have a place to hang their clothes. I think it might be a good idea.
