Yard Work
A nice thing
about living in a townhouse community is yard work is done for you. I used to dislike yard work. Well, I hated that the only time I could do
yard work was on the weekend.
I kind of
like yard work, but when I was working-working, I would have preferred my
weekends off. Now that I have the time,
now that I could putter around the yard any day of the week, the yard work is
done for me.
I do have
about 100 sq. feet of garden on the perimeter of our house that is mine to
maintain. I pull the weeds, plant some
new flowering plants, spread mulch, tend to my 6 tomato plants and water in the
summer. After that, the other 6 days and
23.5 hours of the week are all to myself.
So now I do
miss yard work. I am also jealous of all
the new neat stuff you can get for the yard and yard work.
Patio
furniture is all weather and way more comfortable than it used to be. When I had a patio, furniture had to be
covered in the winter, tied down during storms and it was not very comfortable
to sit on. We do have a table and a few
chairs, but no room for the outdoor fireplaces that many people have. I think I would like one of them. I don’t even have a proper place for a bird
feeder.
My last real
yard was pretty small, but I still had to mow the lawn. I had an electric mower, trimmer and
blower. Navigating those tools with 100
feet of a power cord was a pain in the butt.
Today the same tools have rechargeable battery packs. Not having to yank the power cord around would
have made lawn work a breeze.
One of the
new cool things today that I do have and use are the new hoses. The old hoses for watering and car washing
were a royal pain. Coiling them was
difficult, even with those windup reel things.
The old hoses kinked and cut water flow all the time, also a royal pain.
The new hose
doesn’t kink; it shrinks to a small neat pile when not in use, and extends only
when the water is turned on. It is
really convenient the 15 minutes a month I need to use it.
I also miss
shoveling the driveway in the winter.
Snow shoveling is great exercise.
The cold is invigorating, the blowing snow refreshing on your face. Now even that is done for us. We have a shovel, but 20 minutes after a snow
fall, a crew is out doing the job for me.
I really miss clearing snow, especially after a really heavy snow fall.
OK, I’m
lying about the snow; I like the snow, hate the shoveling.
I do miss
caring for the lawn, except for in the spring when tree pollen got to me and in
the fall when the grass made me sneeze. As I think about it, I don’t really miss lawn
care either.
I do like
planting and weeding, except for how it screws up my back.
OK, forget
everything I’ve said, I love townhouse living, and our yard looks great.
LOL. That is one great thing about living in HOA's with the care being done for you. I enjoyed shoveling snow when we lived in Montana and cutting the grass in summer. Now we live in a desert with hardly any plants or even grass on our property (rocks) so there is minimal yard work for hubby to do. Doesn't even pay to really have a gardener do it; takes about 20 minutes every week to weed eat what needs to be weed eaten.
ReplyDeletebetty
Sounds like an absolute dream! And I like your observations on how tools have evolved to make life easier for those who still have to do their own yard work. I hadn’t really thought about it but you are absolutely right about all of it - there is no need to risk life and limb anymore, running over an electric cable with the lawn mower (I was banned from cutting our grass because the cable ended up with so many nicks covered in insulation tape!). We still have a old fashioned hose but I may well go out and buy a coiled one today to make life easier. Why didn’t we do that before? You paint a very nice picture of retirement - love it,
ReplyDeleteI'm happy about not having to do yard work too. The lawns here are mowed (scalped!) by a "maintenance" team, not proper gardeners I don't think, just the cheapest bidders for the job I suspect. They do a terrible job with the rose bushes, no proper pruning or thinning, just a chainsaw across the top at waist level each year. But I'm glad I don't have to look after any of it, even my own small patch is largely self-sufficient succulents that only need watering in a heatwave.
ReplyDeleteI don't like yard work because it is so repetitive and tiring. Not like lounging in the sun drinking Guinness. What is the point of mowing the lawn or pruning the trees and trimming the bushes if they will grow again? I have suggested we get a few goats to keep the grass short and be more environmentally friendly; but the family does not agree. No sense of adventure my lot.
ReplyDeleteI also hate yard work because neighbours' cats get into our garden and poo all over the place. So I have to clear the poo before mowing the lawn. If I miss a poo the lawnmower catches it and spreads it all over the place and in my face. I have written to my neighbours threatening to get in their gardens at night and poo there. They've reported me to the police. No sense of humour some people.
God bless.
I wish I had such services available. I used to enjoy doing most of the jobs you mentioned. but not all of them.
ReplyDeleteYou had me worried there for a while -- is this nostalgia or complete denial? I was glad to know you came to your senses.
ReplyDeleteWe've always had a big yard and I'm just not a fan of yard work. Even planting pots of flowers can make me mad because of the heavy rains we seem to get this time of year. All that work and money and then they're ruined.
ReplyDeleteyou like shoveling? Oh you are that guy!! :-)
ReplyDeleteI live in a town home and my backyard is all patio'd so no mowing for me!
Think you might have sold me but I still like mowing--rider only. It is when I do my best thinking. Glad you at least have a garden area where you can get your hands dirty.
ReplyDeleteI knew you were heading to that very ending. I knew it. I've been around you too long.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day and weekend, Joe. ♪♫♪♫
Does anybody really LIKE shovelling snow? (Good thing we have a snowblower!) If my husband were reading this, he'd be nodding his head along with me! ☺ He still works full-time and would like his weekends off, too. We both hate yard work, but love our backyard, so, it's a tradeoff. I have a home-based dog boarding business, which wouldn't be doable in a townhouse or condo. C'est la vie! Looking into buying that new style of hose! I haven't seen those around here. Thanks for the info about that.
ReplyDeleteOur "yard" is about 3 acres, plus another 3 for the BARn field, and 6 more for the adjacent property that we bought. Hick has been mowing it twice a week (riding mower). He likes mowing. I like it, because hearing him on the mower is like putting a bell on a cat. I know where he is, but he's not underfoot.
ReplyDeleteThat made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteHeeheehee! Gardens are lovely, as long as they are watered by somebody else.
ReplyDeleteDidn't teenage boys used to do this stuff?? I know I've hired a few. Who knows. Maybe teenage boys and grass mowing and snow shoveling has gone the way of knowing at least one high school kid that knew something about cars. - I'm old...
ReplyDeleteHahaha...I'm laughing at Victor's comment about going poo in his neighbor's garden.
ReplyDelete