Really?

"You're joking, you're not serious" was my response to John when he asked that rake the sticks in the yard.  "I want to get some grass seed down before it rains Saturday.  It would be helpful if you could pick up all the sticks in the yard."

I'm not sure if I told you, our house sits on a quarter acre.  Not real big, not real small, it's our little slice of earth owned by the bank that we are buying.  We are surrounded by woods and trees.  I had told John that while I wasn't working, I'd be happy to chip in and help out more in the yard - BIG MISTAKE!!  Oh my goodness, I thought I was going to die today!  Thankfully, the weather wasn't too hot, although, as the day went on, it sure felt like it.  So it began, I raked and I raked and I raked.  Raking is a cardio work out!!!  I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest!  I made sure I was hydrated, I had a full bottle of water handy.  I made 12 of these piles.

I started in the front yard a little after 10am, the temperature gauge showed it was almost 62 degrees.  It took me about an hour to get the front yard done...with breaks.

I moved onto the back yard.  It was much warmer there as the afternoon sun was directly overhead.  I also went to clean out the rain gauge, we got 3/4 of an inch of drizzle during Tuesday and Wednesday.

While I was out front, I raked the area under the Dogwood tree.  What a view, what do you think?

I kept going, it was more and more difficult to get moving again after the breaks.  Maybe I'd better not take so many breaks.  I could feel myself getting sore, each year I get older, the yard work seems to get more difficult.  I finally got it done, the whole quarter acre with small piles of leaves and sticks everywhere,.  I was sweating from the yard work (workout).  I noticed the hostas and daffodils are getting bigger.  Those by the shed appear to be nibbled on by the deer.  Since I'd just picked up some repellent at the garden center on Monday.  I decided to get that spread around so the plantings would last through the summer.  The treatments are good for three months.  I made a note on the calendar to retreat in July.  Deer Scram, best thing invented to keep away the deer!!

Done, done, done, everything had been raked and the plantings have been protected, it was 3:30, and I'm still sweating like I just ran a marathon.  Time for me to get out of the sun.  I had a small tenderloin roast defrosting that I was going to cook for dinner.  I got cleaned up a bit and put the roast in the oven.  I'll make some green beans to go with it and there's leftover macaroni and cheese from last night's dinner.  Good, dinner is ready to go too.  It's five o'clock and John is usually home by 4:30.  He's under a deadline at work, he probably had to stay late.  I'll just go ahead without him and keep his dinner warm in the oven.  Just as I was heating the green beans, John pulled in the driveway, it was 5:10pm.  "Perfect timing" I said.  "I see you got the yard raked, thank you" he said as he kissed me on the cheek.  I explained how I thought I was going to die about four different times, he thanked me again.  "I'll go out in the yard after dinner and get all the piles bagged up and if there's time, I'll get the yard seeded."

After dinner, I headed out to help him bag the 12 piles.  I held the bag, he had his work gloves on, picking up the pile of sticks and leaves, pitching it in the recycle bag.  It took us about half and hour to get all the piles picked up.

Whew, we're done, time for some evening cocktails.  I had cleaned off the table on the deck that had been covered with puddles from the drizzle and the tree droppings (tree buds, pollen, dirt, etc).  We sat outside on the deck until dusk, almost 8pm.  The moon is out, a beautiful ending to a productive (and probably sore) day.

Accomplishment is a good feeling.  Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed a peek into my day (and didn't break a sweat :-).