March 28, 2011

Hands In The Dirt . . .

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Saturday was one of my favorite kind of days.  After baseball practices and piano recitals were over in the morning we all met up in our mess of a backyard to do some Spring cleaning. 

The bigger kids grumbled because they knew the work that lay ahead.  The littler kids ran around exploring the back yard, finding good sticks and examining worms.  The Hubby and I were probably the most giddy of all because we love yard work.  And believe it or not, I am NOT being sarcastic.

There is something about getting your hands in the dirt that is invigorating.  We raked leftover Fall leaves, picked up hundreds of sticks brought down from the trees by Winter winds, trimmed wayward bushes, straightened stone walls, prepared the deck for Spring gatherings, cleaned out the sandbox, and spread a beautiful layer of dark brown mulch over all our beds.

Ollie was thrilled to be outside for hours.  He wandered around every corner of the yard oohing and aahing over this and that.  RedDog and Hannie B. found the perfect sticks for Harry Potter wand making.  Big C plotted out his lawn mowing strategy to maximize his summer income possibilities.

I knelt next to my sweetie as he spread mulch and I straightened a rock wall.  We turned and smiled at each other while the sound of laughter echoed from the trampoline where our baby was being gently bounced by his siblings. I asked him if he’d do this with me until we get old because it makes me truly, truly happy.  He said yes, of course.

We ate a major round-up of leftovers for dinner {no cooking for me!}, watched some basketball and then collapsed in our beds for what may be the best sleep we’ve had all year.  It was heaven with our hands in the earth.

How about you?  Do you loathe or love working in the dirt?

Ps. Lest you think I live in a yard work fairy tale, I should probably mention that my children fought with each other pretty much the entire time we were working.  I just chose to do one of two things: tune them out or yell “Get along or I’ll give you more work!”

7 comments:

Apis Melliflora said...

I'm with you 110%. I feel completely and utterly happy when working side by side with my better half outside in the spring while the kids run around. We haven't had our day yet, but it's coming!

Tobi said...

While I love my yard to look beautiful I certainly don't love the work it takes to make it that way. I wish I enjoyed it because then maybe it would get done more frequently. Currently a gopher has moved into my back yard. There are mounds of dirt everywhere. The Housing Office told me they would give me dirt to fill the holes. Right. That's totally going to solve the gopher problem. Haven't they seen Caddy Shack?

Aiketa said...

I have one problem, while I truly enjoy a beautiful yard with lots of flowers I never remember to take care of them. I don't remember to water them and all my plants die after a short time. I am thinking of trying again this spring with some pot plants...

I do wish so that one day I have a house where I can work outside with my better half (as Apis said) who I am still looking for, and have a beautiful yard.

MelancholySmile said...

I enjoy yard work as well. We did our spring-cleaning last weekend. :)

christy said...

I love yard work. Ryan--not so much. He does it because it needs to be done but he would much rather hire some one to do it. I spent some good time over spring break weeding flower beds and getting them ready for spring and it makes me soo happy every time I look out my window. I just bought my herbs to plant today. Hooray!

The Queen Vee said...

I like it too but not when the soil is hard clay.

Kasey said...

I love yard work. I"m jealous your grass is so green already!! It's been sunny here, but really cold.