Burned off a gazillion calories

Saturday, 8:23 pm

By Kate

May

27

2006

Another day of yard care. I think, for the foreseeable future, my life belongs to grass. Considering the attention it requires, it should offer something more than tentative greenness. I’m thinking of all the possible ways to have less of it and more bedding material.

J came over today and we went out in search of red bud trees. No luck at all. I’ll have to mail order them. But we did come back with a couple of azaleas for the front of my house and a bleeding heart that I’ll tuck in out there someplace. I still have to sit down with some graph paper and draw up a garden design that I can whack away at over the next year. A design that gets rid of as much grass as possible. So many plants tempted me today, but, until I have a design to follow, I’d better not start buying plants yet.

While I was out watering my grass seed this evening—because it didn’t rain today as promised!—the across the street neighbor offered to come over tomorrow morning to put some straw down over my grass seed. He had extensive grub damage, too, and bought a bale of straw to cover his newly seeded yard a couple of days ago. He has a lot left over. Bless him. The sun beats down ferociously out there and the soil dries out almost as soon as I water it. The straw will help keep the soil moist and save me a lot of time and water. It’ll also keep the seed from washing away if we have a gully washer or two.

All this yard and garden activity this week has proved one thing—I am out of shape. My shoulder, arm, and back muscles are so sore from swinging the weed whacker around and digging and yanking the push mower around. By the end of the season, I will most definitely not be out of shape. Good side benefit to keeping all that grass green and healthy and tamed, I guess. Maybe I shouldn’t be so hasty with my plans to have less of it.