Tag: yard work

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From Heatwave to Hoodie: Yard Work Chronicles and a Deck Drama Unfolding

Written August 21, 2025

Hello Dear Readers,

Just last week, we were sweating through a hurricane-induced heatwave. Now? I’m out mowing the lawn in a hoodie, wondering if I should’ve brought a scarf and mittens too. The weather, in its infinite flair for drama, decided to fast-forward into fall mode without so much as a polite warning.

When I started mowing, it was cold enough to make me question all my summer life choices. But after an hour of pushing the mower like it owed me money, I finally peeled off the hoodie. Two more hours of mowing later, I was borderline ready for a popsicle. Who needs a gym membership when your yard doubles as a workout arena?

Funny thing—I remember the final week of last year roasting in 100°F while my wife and I were clearing the deck like caffeinated squirrels. Yes, skiing around the house in triple-digit weather. (Don’t ask, just know it involved leaf blowers and poor life decisions.)

This summer’s been milder. Mornings are now dipping below 60°F, and we’re bracing for more of that crisp, early autumn air. The upside? Cooler temps mean slower lawn growth. I live for those rare weeks when I can skip mowing without guilt. Earlier this summer, a cold snap bought me a guilt-free mowing sabbatical. It was glorious.

But, of course, nature’s always got backup plans. Just when the grass slows down, the trees start shedding like a stressed-out cat. Leaves everywhere. My wife was out vacuuming the lawn last weekend (yes, vacuuming—welcome to modern suburban warfare) because the tree decided it was done for the year. Between the cold and the lack of rain, it’s shedding faster than last year, and I have a sneaky suspicion it’s not done yet.

She’s been the MVP of yard maintenance lately—mowing every weekend like it’s her side hustle. I was secretly hoping things would slow down for her. She works like a machine during the week and somehow still finds time to tame the wilderness behind our house every weekend.

Oh, and let’s not forget the deck drama. Our stairs broke. Why? Because some genius (bless their heart) built the original deck using a massive tree as a support beam. Great idea—until we had to cut the tree down to avoid, you know, destroying the house foundation. Surprise! No tree, no support, no stairs.

Now we’ve got a leaning fence, a wonky path, and stairs that whisper “danger” with every step. My wife is researching stair repairs like she’s prepping for a TED Talk. She suspects we’ll need a post-hole digger to do it right, and she’s even thinking of swapping the deck boards bit by bit with PVC boards. She’s not an expert—yet—but if I know her, she will be by next weekend.

Honestly, I just hope the yard doesn’t throw us another plot twist before the week’s out.

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My Wife, the Silent Yard Ninja (and I’m Just the Pastry Chef)

Written July 13, 2025

Hello Dear Readers,

Just like yesterday, I meant to help my wife. Truly. But by the time I even stirred from beneath the covers, she had already conquered the yard like a stealthy ninja with a Fitbit.

She’s a morning person—like, Olympic-level. She wakes up two hours before me with the discipline of a monk and the energy of a toddler after cake. Her weekend routine? Exercise first, then silent-but-deadly yard chores (no machines until a decent hour, of course). Only after that does the noisy machinery roar to life like a polite suburban Godzilla.

Apparently, she’s been blocking off yard work time on Saturdays and Sundays like it’s a strategic military campaign. And why? Because she knows I’ve been wrestling with food restrictions and fluctuating weight. So in true hero fashion, she’s lightening my load—literally and figuratively.

Now, I did feel a sprinkle of guilt for not helping… until I realized she never woke me up. No alarm nudges, no “Hey, come outside.” Which means—I was off the hook. Delegation by omission! And to be fair, she always leaves me a chore or two like a benevolent taskmaster. Today’s mission? Yard debris cleanup. I handled the post-battle cleanup like a pro.

Thanks to our teamwork (her initiative and my… eventual contribution), the yard is looking sharp this summer. We’re not worried about the HOA—we’re the couple they wish would enter the neighborhood yard contest. No weeds staging coups in the front yard, no ivy uprising on the fence line. Just tidy suburban excellence.

Although… I do need to start dealing more proactively with that pesky Virginia Creeper. It’s like the Hydra—cut one vine and five more pop up. My wife slays it every season, and it keeps coming back like it’s got a subscription to our yard.

The rest of our Sunday was blissfully uneventful. I brewed our traditional fancy coffee (yes, we are that couple), whipped up a fresh batch of pastry bites, and carved a cantaloupe like a melon maestro. The kitchen may not be the jungle, but I do my part in our domestic ecosystem.

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Early Birds and Overgrown Vines: A Weekend Yard Tale

Written July 12, 2025

Hello, Dear Readers,

When I woke up this morning, my wife was already outside, hard at work tackling the yard tasks she had planned for the day. Lately, she’s been taking on more of the yard work to help me out—especially since I’ve had some pain in my foot from a minor gout flare-up. She was worried it might make things harder for me, so she quietly stepped in.

She can’t do everything, of course, but she consistently puts in about an hour to an hour and a half on weekends and holidays. And let me tell you—it makes a big difference.

When you’re dealing with kidney issues, you really have to be mindful of your body. Gout can make even walking feel like a medieval punishment. Thankfully, this time the attack was small and short-lived. But my wife, ever the vigilant one, is still concerned—about the gout, my kidneys, and probably the rest of me too.

Back when we lived in Portland, yard work wasn’t such a big deal. The summers were dry, and not much grew. Most of our neighbors had waved the white flag on green lawns long ago—watering restrictions and parched earth will do that to a community.

Now that we’re in Nashville, it’s a whole different story. We get regular summer rain, and the humidity makes everything grow like it’s auditioning for Jumanji. If you don’t stay on top of it, the yard gets wild fast.

I always want to help with the yard, but my wife is an early bird with a running start. By the time I rolled out of bed, she’d already worked out, practiced her German, and was knee-deep in hedge trimming. Since she started helping, it’s become way easier to keep things under control. She’s trimmed back the overgrown bushes so they now look neat and intentional, not like they’re plotting to take over the driveway.

There were some vines sneaking up the back of the house—beautiful, but potentially damaging. She caught them just in time, yanking most of them before they could strangle the siding. We hadn’t gotten around to the back section yet, though, and those had already grown about two feet. I’d planned to run a 5K and then help her with the vines, but by the time I was laced up and ready, she was already heading back inside. Apparently, she’d gotten up way earlier than me and knocked out her to-do list like a one-woman landscaping crew.

We picked up a power washer last weekend, and she’s got her sights set on the driveway, the deck, and the siding next. After that, it’s gutter-cleaning season. (Lucky us.) Homeownership is not for the faint of heart—or for people who like sitting still.

She’s also been pulling weeds from the front yard like it’s a personal mission. Thanks to her, the house is looking pretty sharp—no wild grass, no messy vines, no rogue weeds. We’ve still got more to tackle tomorrow and next weekend if we don’t get through it all, but hey, one trimmed bush at a time.

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Leaf It to Me: Adventures in Yard Work

Written March 23, 2025

Hello Dear Readers,

This morning, I found myself engaged in a rare and noble quest: yard work. Not my usual weekend ritual, mind you. I typically leave the gardening to people with a stronger back and a greener thumb. But alas, when you live on a hill, gravity, and nature team up like villains in a buddy cop movie—always ready to make things harder than they need to be.

Now, our yard has a bit of a wild streak. If left alone, it doesn’t just grow—it plots. One year, we made the rookie mistake of letting the ivy do its thing. “It’ll look charming,” we said. “Like an English cottage!” What we got instead was a full-on plant invasion. The ivy crept up the side of our house like it was trying to break in. And since the exterior isn’t fully bricked, my wife was convinced it would start dismantling our home from the foundation up. We ended up yanking it off the wall like it owed us money and then spent the rest of the day cleaning up its leafy aftermath. Never again.

This week, my wife decided it was time to bring order to the front yard. She had asked me earlier to vacuum—yes, vacuum—the leaves from the front yard so she could tame some decorative plants that had begun asserting their independence. I agreed, of course, then promptly forgot. Saturday came and went in a blur of other tasks. Classic.

Luckily, the weather today was cooperative. My weather app promised rain… just not yet. So I suited up and got to it. Leaf vacuum in hand, I tackled the neglected zone while my wife charged in later with a weedwhacker, swinging it like a hedge-knight with a hedge-trimming sword. She’s been clearing weeds too—methodically, heroically, like she’s one step away from turning the whole place into a botanical museum.

Now, my wife is a loyal reader of Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy. She’s constantly organizing, scheduling, and maximizing productivity. However, she claims she struggles with “putting things away,” though I think the real issue is her to-do list has more pages than War and Peace. When she blames herself for not getting everything done, I remind her we’re human, not calendar apps with arms.

Ironically, it was her beloved frog book that nudged me into action today. One of its golden rules? Don’t put off the tough stuff. So next time I’m assigned an oddball task, I’ll let my phone remember for me. Set a reminder. No excuses.

Because if you’re going to eat the frog, you may as well season it and serve it hot.

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Planning Ahead Is A Key To Complete

Written August 23, 2024

Hello Dear Readers,

About two months ago, my wife proposed a few yard projects we need to do this year. Some projects can depend on temperature or seasons so that they can be tricky. For example, she insisted that we do deck staining this year. My wife planned to do this sometime this summer. 

My wife usually plans projects for at least several months to eliminate any obstacles to completing a project ahead of time. Her problem is that she needs more time since she is busy. 

Deck staining demands many external conditions, which we need to watch for. She told me the deck must be stained when the temperature is 50F to 90F without rain for at least 24 hours. That eliminated substantial summer days. The ideal temperature would be Spring. However, we got a lot of rain in Nashville in the spring, so she did not want to do this project in the spring. So, we have between September and October to do this project.

There is something we can do ahead of time. For example, we can clean our deck beforehand so that the deck will be easy to sand and stain. 

My wife combined two projects at once. One was to clean the siding of our house and the deck. She wanted to rent a power washer from a nearby Home Depot so we could do both simultaneously. She took a day off this Friday, Thursday, and Friday of the upcoming week. The following week is a long weekend, so it would be the perfect time for a project like cleaning and washing.

After my run, we did some yard work to prepare for winter and the upcoming projects we have been forming. Today, we wanted to remove any weeds or extra trees that may interrupt our side or deck washing. 

Afterward, we got some delicious gyro plates from a nearby restaurant. I also completed my daily chores: bottled kombucha, did laundry, and put it away. So I called, and today was our successful day.

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Spring’s Subtle Arrival: A Reflection

Written on January 28, 2024

As we inch closer to the end of another week, the promise of spring whispers ever so softly to us. It’s a time filled with subtle signs that herald the return of warmer days. During my recent runs, I’ve been greeted by the sight of robins, those quintessential messengers of spring, frolicking across various lawns. Their presence is a comforting reminder that spring is indeed on its way.

Reflecting on this same period last year, I recall the slightly surreal sight of these birds hopping through a light blanket of snow. It was a peculiar contrast – the embodiment of spring dancing amidst winter’s lingering embrace. I hope that this year, the transition will be less jarring, with spring taking its rightful place without the backdrop of winter’s chill.

Yet, with the arrival of spring comes the inevitable: a list of chores that seem to awaken alongside the blossoming flora. A significant part of this seasonal shift includes the resurgence of yard work. Last year, I successfully maintained our outdoor space and found the perfect balance. Our homeowner’s association, perhaps taking note of the improvements, spared us the usual reminders to tend to our yard. This small victory encouraged me to adopt a similar strategy this year.

With all its beauty and promise, spring also reminds us of the cyclical nature of responsibilities and the satisfaction derived from their fulfillment. As much as it signifies renewal and growth, it also beckons us to engage with our surroundings to care for the land that, in turn, sustains and nurtures us. So, as we stand on the cusp of this season of rebirth, I embrace its joys and demands with equal enthusiasm.

As you observe the signs of spring in your own lives, you may find joy in the simple pleasures it brings and resilience in the face of its challenges. Here’s to a season of growth, renewal, and the harmonious balance between enjoying nature’s beauty and contributing to its upkeep.