Cleanup Time!



photo courtesy of Country Living Magazine

As I was checking in with my friend on Going Like Sixty this morning, he reminded me that along with springtime comes the after-winter cleanup.  As my cousin says, "Oh joy!"  (This was not a phrase used much in my house, since it was my mother's name, so it always catches my attention when I hear it).  As I sit at my desk looking out my window, I see leaves from the neighbor's tree.  I see birds--LOTS of robins and blackbirds out there this morning.  And I see the 'deposits' my dog left over the winter.  Ugh!!!  And I like springtime because....?

Isn't it funny?  By the end of the summer and fall seasons, we're so tired of mowing, raking, pruning, and just general maintenance that we close the doors and decide to deal with it in the spring.  Well, now spring is here and I have a choice.  I could just leave it (not really in my nature to do that--ever!) or I could go out and get to work!  "Oh joy!"  (Sorry Mom).  I see on Facebook that my friend in Arkansas spent four hours working in her yard.  I'm not sure I'm that excited about spring yet, of course her spring is a lot farther along than my spring.  Even just driving an hour an a half south to my parent's house you see a real difference:  crocuses blooming and daffodils peaking through the ground.  No signs of that kind of life here yet.

So I'm debating about how to 'attack' the front yard.  The last time the yard was so full of birds, many of my little feathered friends left their 'deposits' on my car and one especially friendly fellow left a more personal message on my hand.  I'm not sure that the yard is so bad, after all.  The birds seem to be enjoying it just as it is.  After all, aren't we supposed to be going more green?  I guess I could put on my old raincoat and hat.  My son has an old pair of boots I could use. Hmmm....would I wear this to clean the yard or is this just to walk to the car?  Seems it could work either way. 

Maybe I'll wait a few more days.  It's supposed to be in the sixties by Wednesday or Thursday.  Maybe by then the birds will have moved on in their migration process.  It will give me a few more days to plan.  After all, a project like this will require some pretty intense preparation!  Sounds reasonable, don't you think?