Work days

Winter was a real bugger this year – overstaying its welcome and pushing spring much further forward than anyone liked.  My normal mid-March agenda got pushed into the end of April, and still was sporadic.  Who wants to do yardwork and landscaping in cold, snowy, wet, windy weather? (Sorry Gen – I know it’s your job!). 

But finally I began to attack the yard and the flower beds trying to right the wrongs of winter and late fall.  And thanks to Ron, some of these projects went better than I could have hoped for.  One of the main focuses was the bed in the front yard.  It was out of control, and I decided that I wanted to pull the fabric up, dig out the plants, and seed it for grass.  THAT was a chore; the fabric was rooted (literally!) into the ground and so heavy that once it was up we could barely move it.  We managed to get it into a pile and my trusty cousin Paul came and hauled it away.  I also dug up the small section at the bottom of my driveway and will seed that, as well.  Lots of stones in that one, and I was determined to finish despite the cold windy wet day.  Success! 

Second on the agenda was to weed and thin out the flower beds in the front and side yards, as well as the herb garden and by the driveway.  The section under the deck had stone steps that I had constructed back in 2000 when I had Tazz-pup.  He kept tramping through the flowers and the mulch so I made him an easy-access route from the door up to the top yard.  So Ron and I dug out the stones and began placing them so they looked nicer and were more sturdy.  The little pile of river pebbles beside the house (to deflect overflow of water down the hill) also got dug up and repositioned. 

Then on Sunday afternoon we moved stepping stones from behind the shed and placed them in the little section between the herb garden and the hill flower beds.  I placed a few solar lights there and it made such a wonderful difference!  And while I was weeding out the herb garden, Ron repainted my rusted purple bistro table and 2 chairs, making them look new and appealing. 

I couldn’t have done these projects without you, Ron – invaluable.  Not to mention fun, playing in the dirt, talking and laughing.  I promised that once my yard was finished we’d go over and start on his yard.  He did warn me, however, that he has several weed beds.  I’m REALLY looking forward to that, I can tell you!  But we’ll have fun, cause we can do it together!  Many hands make light work!