I love weekends because they give me a chance to get caught up on things. Mostly, in my house, that means cleaning: washing dishes and laundry, clearing out the recyclables, vacuuming the carpets, scrubbing the toilets. When I’m out and about, I gas up the car, get groceries, and check my post office box.
In the spring, summer and fall, weekends also mean cleaning up the yard. I don’t have a huge lot, as lots go, but there’s enough grass and shrubbery (and dammit, weeds) to keep me plenty busy most of the year.
Today was a lovely warm one that was ideal for the first lawn mowing of the season, which comes a little late compared to prior years but we had a bone-cold winter that just dragged on and on. I also had to do some serious weeding in the front yard.
The front flowerbed this morning, choked with weeds–dandelions, some sort of climbing vine, and some ghastly stickery weed that I just hate. Oh wait, that’s a rose bush. 😉
The front flower bed this afternoon after being (mostly) cleared. Improvement is the goal, not perfection. I have to remind myself of this a lot when I work in the garden.
Getting the flowerbeds weeded was nearly a day’s work in itself, but the lawns needed to be edged and mowed as well, since the back yard was getting so overgrown that I was afraid I might lose a Schnauzer in the rough.
The grass was chest high on the dogs. And I see that my camera decided to focus on Reggie’s butt rather than on her face in this shot. I need to pay closer attention to where the red dot is in the viewfinder.
Rudy surveys the scene post-mow. Much better! I found a couple of dog piles in the deepest patches that I swear were left behind during the last ice age (otherwise known as January of this year).
So now I’m ready for the coming week with tidy yards, a clean kitchen and bathrooms, fresh linens on the bed (from which I had to remove one blanket in deference to the warming weather), a closet full of clean clothes and a fridge full of groceries.
Tomorrow night, I’m eager to try my own variation on the Sole en Papillote recipe with pan-fried fresh sole. I’m expecting great results, maybe even with pictures this time.
Going Forward 