These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Thursday, June 11, 2009

I Really Hate Yard Work

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I had help in the yard this morning. The teenage boy who house sat for me came over and helped with some heavy, hard work. I have a huge, and I do mean HUGE, pile of old tree branches that was left by the previous owner. It has been there a very long time, because they are so dry and brittle that I can break a limb about two inches with a snap. Many of the larger branches are rotten through and through, and literally fall apart when they are dropped on the ground.

I have to get rid of this horrible pile of wood. It is unsightly, and I want the yard to look neat. But even more important, it is a fire hazard. Can you imagine what could happen if a spark should land on it? If, god forbid, a wildfire came near here, I can imagine the flames on that spot should be enormous. As is, I don't know if I will ever be able to get it all out of there. We got most of the small pieces out. It took four loads in my pickup bed, stacked as high as the cab, to remove this much. It is stacked at the roadside and ready for the yard waste pickup next week. The stack is approximately 18 feet long X 4-5 feet wide X 5-6 feet high. The problem is that there is still at least that much more to go, but it is in the form of trees! Yes, someone cut down two or more trees, I can't tell for sure, and drug them in there to rot!! I'll have to cut the trees up before we can do anything else.

The ground under this mess is covered with debris, small pieces of bark, twigs, leaves, etc. I don't know what I will do with it. It will actually be good mulch for the soil, but I need to check and find out about how much would be considered safe to leave. I may rake it out and scatter it around the sparse areas to enrich the soil. That will be a lot of work. An awful lot. One step at a time, Lyn, one step at a time.

I'm done for the day. Two hours of labor in the sun is plenty. I'm going to water the deck plants, the yard plants in waiting, and the fledgling lawn, but that will be it. Scott brought me some root stimulator bacteria grown in his lab, and I'll give all my plants a shot of that, too. No more hard stuff for today.

Tonight I'm going to dinner with some friends. We are starting a new "club," an idea borrowed from Enid and her friends in Santa Fe. On each of our birthdays we will go out, and the person with the birthday is treated to dinner by her friends (we share the cost of her dinner and pay for our own). I'm looking forward to it tonight, our first dinner. Tonight's activities will be much more fun than this morning's, for sure!!

PS @ 4:45 PM
I had a little surge of energy, so I got the 2 Red Hot Pokers planted, as well as 2 of the Apache Plume. I was feeling pretty smart, thinking I have just 2 more Apache Plumes, 3 Mexican Brooms, and the Columbine left to plant. The nursery just called and the 3 Fountain Grasses I ordered and wasn't expecting till next week are in!!! And I know I'll get a couple more Columbines while I'm there, so I'm not out of the woods yet!! It isn't one step forward, two back, but more like one step forward and two added to the end of the path! I look at the title of this post, and knowing that I do this to myself, I can only laugh at me!
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9 comments:

  1. I hate yard work as well. It used to be something that would calm me and kind of be like therapy, but since I moved here I decided to heck with it and that is why I hired someone to do my yard.

    Have fun tonight. Where are you guys going for dinner?

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  2. Certain aspects I don't mind too much, but when it is the really hard stuff, GAH. I'd love to have it hired out, but when a guy stopped to ask about work, he said probably $150-200 to remove the pile. I just couldn't do that. Garrett is a good worker and is happy with $7.50/hr. Sadly, I have to do so much on my own. I just keep telling myself how nice it will look when it is done!

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  3. I love yard work. I think it brings me back to my farm roots. However, I have deferred a lot of it to Cowboy lately.

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  4. Yard work is a love hate relationship here although we dont have to do much then mow. I love planting things and want to start a garden someday Sarahs pumpkins are up. You do a lot I am so impressed. Have a good time at dinner

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  5. Wow that's a lot of work. What a wonderful idea for you and your friends. I tried something like that with mine, but it was too hard to get enough of them together at one time. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun. --Cheryl

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  6. hmmmm....i think i like yard work better than housework but then my yard work is ALOT less intense than yours is!

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  7. MJ, I used to defer to the hub, too, but now it is just me, and since it's gotta be done ..... well. I think I'm in pretty good shape for my age, and it's a good thing!

    Bobbie, love/hate is a great way to describe it!! Yep, hate to do it, love the result!

    Cheryl, it is a lot of work! As for the dinner, I think we will probably be pretty good at keeping it going. We are a group that get together anyway, but this gives us the chance (excuse?) to celebrate together.

    (M)ary, honestly, I could do without either!!

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  8. To save a lot of money we clean our yard, removed five old brush piles, and set stone for a walk way. My son, Scott ring the front garden with rocks and then started hauling gravel for the gardens himself with a wheelbarrow. I am not a fan either but the best part about it is you can sit back and enjoy.

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  9. Pepper, those are the kinds of things I'm trying to get done, the clearing, cleaning, organizing. It is so tedious, doing it alone. And so back breaking. I wish I had my son, Scott, close by. I can't wait till the day I can sit back and enjoy with just the usual upkeep.

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If you have something to say about it, just stick out your thumb, and I'll slow down so you can hop aboard! But hang on, 'cause I'm movin' on down the road!!! No time to waste!!!