Out of line

In general, the weather here is not too bad, but there's a tendency towards dampness. Admittedly, we don't live in a monsoon zone, fierce storms are rare, and we don't have the kind of nonstop drizzle that characterizes, say, Brittany. Nevertheless, it's rare, at this time of the year, to be able to work outside in perfectly dry conditions for more than a few hours. I realize now that the only way of accomplishing a reasonable amount of outdoor work at Gamone consists of being constantly prepared, like a conscientious Boy Scout (that's to say, primarily, being dressed permanently in working clothes and boots, even though I might be seated in front of my computer), and dashing into tasks as soon as there's a break in the wetness.

[At the moment I was writing that last sentence, while dressed in muddy green overalls, I suddenly heard the sound of a wall of rainwater beating down upon Gamone, punctuated by flashes of lightning and claps of thunder. The electric power went off. Since I could no longer do anything useful here, I decided to drive into town to buy food at the supermarket. On the way, I saw places where torrential rain had washed away roadside embankments, and formed vast puddles of water. At two spots, emergency road crews were already in action trying to clean up the mess. Truly, I should have never written the above paragraph!]

Over the six months or so, much of the preparation of my garden has been carried out in such conditions, by taking advantage of suitable time slots before or after falls of snow or rain, and when it's not freezing cold. Consequently, certain operations were performed hastily, sometimes too hastily. Yesterday, Bob pointed out to me that the square garden plot in the far right-hand corner is not in precise alignment with its neighbors. He claimed that it's some 5 centimeters in advance of its correct position. Now, up until Bob's remark, I had never noticed this, although I recall that I had a lot of trouble with this last plot, mainly because I was adjusting it in poor weather conditions. (It's convenient to be able to blame the weather, rather than my incompetency.) Well, in the wake of Bob's criticism, I found the error sticking out like a proverbial sore thumb. Yesterday, every time I glanced down at my garden, I was aware of this alignment discrepancy. Finally, during a calm slot in the weather, I got to work digging, with a view to bringing the wooden frame into correct alignment. Here's the present situation:

But it's still too wet to pursue the job...