Hard work but welcome

Our community has a great resource called 'FreeCycle' where people advertise things they would like to pass along to others, or share wants/needs. As a result, we are now the proud owners of 6 shrubs and a trailer full of sod. Hurrah! This means usable lawn behind the patio for the wedding reception in July!

The sod had to be hauled from the backyard up a steep incline to the driveway. Hubby - a sod-hauling maniac, favorite son, future son-in-law, daughter#2 and I made short work of 5 full pallets of sod rolls, sorta like these

(Photo by Brad Kovach from Stock.xchng, a free stock photography site)

I didn't haul, but helped fill wheelbarrows. That was strenuous enough...the muscles on my right arm and side have definitely atrophied after 9+ weeks of convalescing from the shoulder dislocation.

What a lot of hard work, but oh...the dividends! Soon our yard will be sporting a large arctic willow like this but bigger, two yews, and three replacements for our badly deer-damaged arborvitae. I am not sure the arborvitae shrubs will recover from the severe buzz-cut the deer gave to all 19 of them. They are sad, sad things. I'm distressed our local wildlife made the "Bauer Buffet" into the 'hot' dining spot this winter. Distressed is putting it mildly...I am really torqued off! To add to the outrage, they have eaten my emerging tulips for the first time that I can remember. What is to be done with these cheeky marauders? No yard is safe!

We have some hot sauce called 'Da Bomb' and I am seriously tempted to spray it on the trees next fall and winter. The problem is, this sauce is sooo hot that I worry my kids will brush against the trees, get the stuff on their hands, and transfer it to their faces or eyes, so it is probably not a solution. I will be working on my defenses for next fall for I have 4 new apple trees to protect and defend. They are sitting in the front porch patiently waiting to be planted.

I dosed on Advil last night and went to bed a happy woman. The hard work hasn't even started yet, but I am so eager to begin. If only our rainy, cloudy weather would cooperate. We had sleet/snow again yesterday. True, it did melt off immediately but it was not a welcomed sight even so.

[begins chanting]
C'mon spring...c'mon spring...c'mon spring...