Can we talk?

Yard Work

         One forgets how physical yard work can be until one starts pulling weeds, raking, and so forth. After a few hours, your back hurts, your knees hurt, hands hurt from pulling and digging. Tonight even my neck hurts. And this is the best time of year to do it. No sweat bees, few mosquitoes, cool temps. Even the ground was moist, so the soil yielded most of the weeds easily.

         It may burn a few calories, but I'm afraid it's not muscle building or toning. It involves some stretching, but there's a lot of being cramped up, or bent over in odd positions for extended periods of time.

         The progress in the yard is so slow. I spent two hours on one overgrown flowerbed, and it's only one flowerbed. The overall yard is still a mess. The grass is cut, and one flowerbed is done. Just since rain, weeds that have popped up in the cracks between the slate in the patio. My aging father made a mess of the shrubs last fall, but I'm no good with the electric hedge trimmer. (He isn't either.) Some older trees that are too close together need to come down. There are more flowerbeds. There's a brick wall to one side where Dad planted cacti that have taken over. They need to go, but you can't get near them. He's painting the lawn furniture, and repairing equipment.

         I'll keep at it until I go back to work. And I'll still do my walks in the park. Maybe I'll be healthier, and the yard won't look so bad.