The longest yard

I had to take a break from working on the book to do yard work instead, what with my shift partner having already mowed her lawn three times--while I hadn't even dug out the mower.

My trees ordinarily shed almost as badly as our dog, but this was an exceptional winter. I've never seen so much debris in the yard, both small and sometimes very large limbs--I actually went up to Doc's Hardware and bought my very first wheel barrow so I could deal with it. (By the by, does anyone have any use for a large brush pile?) Speaking of the dog, a large bucket was also needed for another type of debris in the back yard.

Then there was the lawn mower, and the annual tradition of getting it going that first time in the spring. It was cold and tired ... I was cold and tired ... it didn't want to deal with me, and vice-versa. By the time I finished and then raked up the rows of newly mowed hay that the dog fertilized over the winter, the whole project took a few hours on each of of three days.

Kids, this is why you should never use the phrase, "This shouldn't take too long".