Spring projects

Even though it feels like the day went by in a blur, I actually feel like I've accomplished something. This is fantastic news for me since I was sick for about a week-and-a-half. I was completely drained of energy and got tired walking around my house. Luckily work was a little bit slower than it has been the past couple of months, so I was able to scrap by.

Today I played with spray paint. This is my first attempt at using it and I am even more impressed with those that create the graffiti works of art (not so much for those that just tag stuff). I am painting the re-purposed Smurf-blue rain barrel I bought/made last year beige. I think the neighbors will be pleased since they had to look at it through their patio window all summer. The first coat is on and looking much more neutral.

The other exciting thing was we picked up a compost bin. We've had one made out of a metal trash can for 2-3 years now, but I failed to think of how I would not only turn the compost at the bottom of the bin, but how I would get compost out of it. I'm super excited about this new compost bin because it's much larger, has an open bottom and it has a slot at the bottom to turn over the compost and to scoop out the finished compost.

It's been really fun seeing all the plants coming up. The day lilies in back are really tall now, as are the columbine I planted last spring. The lilacs have buds all over and the lilies of the valley are finally starting to poke up. The rhubarb out front is growing a lot and the hostas are starting to peak up out of the ground. I'm hoping the nice weather sticks around a while.

Hello muscles I haven't used all winter

I did the bulk of the spring clean-up yesterday in anticipation of the crazy thunderstorm that I slept through last night. I left quite a few leaves on the ground before the first snow last year out of laziness and lots of leaves in the flower beds out of planning, which meant I had plenty to clean up. Last year, I cleared out the flower beds too late - everything was a few inches tall which meant I had to be extra careful not to rip out the fragile plants.

Given all the bending over, picking leaves up, raking, hauling, etc, my muscles decided to revolt this morning. I groaned getting out of bed. The back of my legs are killing me and I'm walking like a zombie (luckily I don't have the urge to eat brains). I've been taking Ibuprofen, stretching, and had Chris make me a protein shake in order to start combating the soreness. I'm really nervous for tomorrow morning (it's always worse the second day for me at least).

All the pain is totally worth it. Not only is it great to uncover all the little plants that are growing like mad, I am getting inspired about all the garden plans I thought I was going to work on over the winter. Good weekend!

Spring arrives!

I am so excited! Banjo and I went for a long walk today, and afterward, I chased him around the yard a bit. While playing, I noticed some green starting to appear: the day lilies are starting to come up! Then I looked a bit closer and noticed the honeysuckle are starting to come up too! After that, I started noticing little plants all over the place!

The funny thing is there is still some snow in the backyard (where the sun doesn't hit). It's looking out of place though, which brightens my day :) I'm planning on starting the spring clean-up this weekend. There's plenty to do because it seems to me I got a bit lazy with raking towards the end of fall last year, so there are plenty of leaves to rake up. I'm most excited about uncovering the flower beds! Banjo's excited about everything - he loves the warmer weather. He started just sitting outside for the fun of it.

Ecstatic for spring

I am getting more and more anxious to get working out in the yard. The bulk of the snow is now gone, which is fantastic, but I have been ready to start working on the yard for the past month. Come on spring!

In the meantime, I've been knitting lots of baby stuff. I just finished a baby blanket for my friend/coworker. I didn't expect it to be so large and of course it took me almost a month to knit. I put the finishing touches on last night, and her baby shower is this morning. Cutting it a bit close, I know.

Now that I have that done, I have to finish Chris's socks that I started way back when. I am ready for a small break from knitting though. I really want to work on the yard!