Clean-up

 

I told my friend Helen yesterday that most of the winter dog droppings around the Lovestead have been scooped up or scraped into oblivion. 

It's a good feeling in the spring to clear the walking area of squishy deposits that often stick to the bottom of your feet.  

A day after dog-poop clean-up in any area gives me a new sense of freedom as I walk through, feeling assured that I won't track any extras into the house. 

A similar feeling comes when lighting a match to tall, dead grass along a fence line and watching it catch fire and disintegrate. 

I spent some time yesterday doing just that.  I took a couple of books of matches with me to the lane, not really expecting much success. 

Surprisingly, however, the first lit match thrown into the grass evolved into healthy and spreading flame.

  From that point, the task was easy.  Within about 20 minutes most of the grass along the lane fence had disintegrated, leaving a black strip along the fence. 

So, some more cleanup was accomplished, along with several areas in the lawn where snow had melted overnight. 

Slowly but surely and often tediously, certain areas of the place have gone through their spring clean-up with help from pruning shears, the rake, the cart and the pick. 

Overall, there's still plenty of residue which will have to wait until the first round with the lawnmower, but the worst winter eyesores are slowly disappearing. 

We have another project to be completed next week when Garrett brings his equipment and digs to find the exact location of a leak which has been a problem since December. 

We have two areas near the barnyard fence where the ground is pretty spongy so I'm hoping that fixing the leak isn't too bad.  

I'm sure we'll have a mess for a while, but it will be nice to stop the flow of water and money.  

When it's kinda blah outside for photography around here, I grab images I like from Facebook, like this one.

 

These characters came for dinner last night, and that was AFTER they had shown up at the bird feeder for their afternoon snacks. 

So far, it seems that deer, birds and squirrels are all getting their turn. 

I did grimace at one sighting yesterday when a starling landed on the post holding the feeders. 

Ugh!  They have arrived en masse, and they've moved into the spot under the eaves of the shop where they've been freeloading over the past three years. 

Not much we can do about this winged addition to the menagerie, so their presence will continue to be irritating. 

All in all, however, the early spring has been satisfying and productive.  

I think all of the above are helpful at any time, but they sure seem appropriate right now as our nation is so divided.  

Employing any or all can benefit us personally as well as others. 

And, finally, I'm hoping the message below isn't deemed too political. 

I know some Irish eyes that will be smiling later this month.  For now, it's fun to look forward to St. Patrick's Day.  

Enjoy, and Happy Wednesday. 

Let's your eyes smile regardless of their ethnicity.