I like to spread my mulch early, to set off the color of all the early spring flowers. Unfortunately, spring arrived extremely early this year. My daffodils have already bloomed. My lilies have all begun to grow. The forsythia is awash in color. Even the bleeding hearts have already emerged.
While everything looks nice, all that early growth meant it was going to take an extra long time to get the mulch down. With 28 yards of mulch to spread, the last thing I needed was something to slow me down.
I got through about 4 yards late yesterday after work. That was a nice head start. I headed out this morning bright and early at 7:30AM to pick up where I'd left off. Ten hours later, I called it a day. I estimate I made it through another 12 yards or so.
It was a long day. But, there were a couple of things that helped to get me through it:
- The outdoor bathroom. We have two of these. One is just over our property line through the path to the left of the patio. The other is directly behind the shed. I gave both of them a try.
- Nick. At about 9:45AM, Nick came out and gave me a hand for an hour. I happily turned over the pitchfork and wheelbarrow and grabbed the iron rake. It was a very nice break.
- Ginger. While Wally was also outside all day with me, Ginger was a hoot to watch. She just loves the nice weather. All day long, she was busy as can be, trotting along with her nose to the ground, almost never stopping. She's going to sleep well tonight.
- Beer. There's nothing better at the end of a long day of hard labor than drinking a cold beer in the shower. All day long, whenever I started to droop, I told myself to remember that beer waiting for me. It worked every time.
