Friday, August 10, 2012

Just an Hour

I am a weekend warrior. It's not much but I do what I can. Step one last weekend was to sharpen the loppers.

It has been awhile since I used the sharpening steel. It was also awkward to try to get the proper edge on the loppers. I used to do this every time I took the loppers into the yard. I didn't have a good feel for whether I was sharpening the edge correctly or just window-dressing.

Once finished, the loppers and I took to clearing the area by the hydrangea off the northwest corner of the deck. I have no idea what kind of tree it is but it's not where I want it. Thirty minutes later, the corner was liberated and you could see the hosta again.

It was slightly oppressive in the heat and humidity department, but I was on a roll. I spent another 30 minutes pulling Queen Anne's lace and other stuff that wasn't where I wanted it, spraying Round-Up on the trunks of trees that I had sliced off and cleaning up a section of limbs that Zeke had cut in the spring. In the end, a nice section of the back by the house is tidy again. I had to quit at an hour as it was just too warm for me to continue.

This is a small victory. I couldn't do this last year. There's a lot I couldn't do last year. This year, I'm limited in what I can do by how many yard waste stickers I can purchase. I have to wait for extra cash for stickers. We used to pay a monthly fee for garbage and yard waste to be hauled away. But some people, like me, can go a month or more without putting anything, other than recyclables, to the curb. So, the city decided to go to this sticker program where you pay only for what you put out. Garbage and yard waste are the same sticker and price. Leaves, in the fall only, are less. Recyclables are free. From an economic stand-point, it's a great deal. The stickers are $3.50 each and I don't always have the cash for some. That means that the yard trimmings get piled instead of hauled.

It felt good to haul 3 containers of limbs, twigs and branches to the curb this week. The deck looks better; more open and inviting. It was good exercise, physically and mentally, to be outside working in the yard. Huzzah! This weekend looks just as productive.

Beverage:  Pepsi

Deb

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