Today

Okay, so today has been a house day (as opposed to a school day, or yard day). Schooling has been uninspired, but done none-the-less. I have done a mountain of laundry, and delivered the piles to each proper bedroom. I have eaten 3 meals already (it's only 2:30 pm), and still feel hungry (?), and have had almost an entire pot of coffee. I have walked outside and made a mental plan of attack for carving civilization out of the wilds of nature out there, with me and my imaginary landscaping crew. Um, that means me and a few children. So, I actually am looking forward to putting order outside, and am considereing dropping in lots of perennials and scattering seeds and moving tons of mulch left over from last years tree removal.

Here's the way I look at it. I would like to join a gym and get in shape. Can't afford it, don't know where the time would come from.

I would like to hire landscapers. Can't afford it.

So, I will get a work out for free, landscaping my yard myself, for free. Makes sense, eh?

Today, I got all the mental work done. And now I wait for warmer weather. And a lot more energy. And a few more muscles.

First thing I (we) have to do is a spring stick pick up. With three acres of woods, nature's pruning has been effectively completed, and now we must collect and dispose of all these sticks and branches. I will take the larger ones and add to the fence I am making. Basically I am piling up in a zig zag pattern, any long, thick stick, to separate a wild area from a planting area. It sort of keeps the blackberries out, and makes the leaves pile up around the outside of the fence and kill the grass and weeds that otherwise would need weed-wacking.

The little sticks will go on the burn pile.

Then I have to either rake out my planting areas or burn them. It always depends on the weather, the wind, and my abilities.

Then I have to decide what to do with all the muddy areas we have this year, since we took out all our old bushes last year. If I don't get something on that dirt, the weeds will overtake the whole are in no time.

Also, there are many sinking spots in our back yard after the addition was done. So, I need a load of dirt delivered, and I guess I will be hauling and shoveling dirt.

Once all this is done, I need to decide how to edge my new planting areas, go to my mom's and split up many of her perennials and put them around all my blank spots. I have a visions of a fence, yard decore, wind chimes and hanging plants. That's like the frosting on a cake I'll be baking all year, I think. Next year hopefully, I'll decorate.

Anyway, here I am, dreaming of spring weather, and getting in shape. *sigh*. Can't wait!