Spring Preview

I know it's not going to last but I'm loving these few days of real spring we're having.  Yesterday I ran---OUTSIDE!  It was still icy and I had to run/wade through ankle deep water, but it was still so great to be outside, back on my trail.  Vince asked Evan to help him ride his bike. (We took his training wheels off last fall when one fell off and he never really got the hang of two wheels before the weather was too cold and snowy to ride.) That held his interest for about 10 minutes and when he ran off, Evan started raking some leaves along the driveway.  Soon I was out there with him and even though we didn't get a TON of yard work done,  it felt like we really made a dent. Last year when we went out it was all such a mess and so overwhelming.  This year - I have a plan.  Just knowing what I'm going to do is making it more fun to be out there.  I know that in a year or two I'll be where I was at the old house and actually enjoy working outside.  I'll be able to think about gardening and planting rather than just maintaining and cleaning.  I used to think people were crazy when they said they liked to do yard work and gardening, but now I understand.  It's not fun to weed just to weed, but when it's part of a bigger step to make my yard look like somewhere I'd like to be, it's suddenly
not such a chore.

My aunt gave me two books last summer about low maintenance gardening and I'm really excited to look through them and get some ideas.  At first I was disappointed when she gave them to me.  I didn't really want low maintenance, but the more I looked around me, I realized that low maintenance it what my yard calls for--I can't grow too many flowers in all this shade.  That's fine.  I'm ok with making my yard somewhere functional, not a look-but-don't-touch garden.  I think this year instead of dreaming about a big garden and shopping for annuals, I'm going to be edging, mulching and dumping stones.  Maybe this summer instead of dreading going in the yard because it's such a mess, I'll actually have fun out there.  Playing with the kids--and planning where that garden will go next year.