oh, the pain....

Well, the tiller came in. Dad got it all put together for us. I didn't know it was going to be so small! I took one look at it and thought, "this is going to be a piece of cake." Saturday morning -- it takes all 3 of us to read the instructions... but I got it fired up and ready to till. I started it on the first row of my garden patch -- and made one row - and thought I was going to die! That sucker may be small... but it still took everything I had to run it! Today I feel like I've been beat up by a gang of ninjas. My arms hurt... my legs hurt... my back hurts... heck, even my feet hurt!! The good news is, between myself and mom and dad - the garden patch has been tilled and cultivated. I even had enought energy left to put in a small flower bed at the back of the garage. That one was fun as well -- my mom and I don't have the same 'eye' for flowerbeds. My big picture (which is Alice in Wonderland meets an English Cottage) is not the big picture she has (which is tight and orderly and everything has it's place). In the end, she just didn't watch and let me do as I wanted (nice of her, seeming it's my house). We will see how it comes up - I did everything by seed this year. My first time to try it- so if it doesn't work - note to self for next year! Needless to say, today my list had a lot on in  and NONE of it got done... basically all I accomplished today was a nap -- but, hey, it's hard to garden when you can barely lift your arms!!

nobody said it was going to be hard work!!

So, I started my journey into the wonderful world of landscaping and gardening this weekend. I woke up at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and did 50 transplants -- my little seedlings were needing much more room to grow. Dug out a flowerbed and got it planted. And on Sunday, finished the raised garden bed and got 18 strawberry plants in the ground. Here's the thing -- number one, after all that work, you can't tell I've done a darn thing around here! Mom says it's not instant gratification... but it would be nice to be able to tell a little difference. Number two - and maybe most importantly, MAN am I out of shape! Sunday morning I was sore in places I didn't even know I could be sore!! I was hobbling around all over the house. Not to mention, woke up with a horrible headache and sore throat - more than likely caused from working outside all day. On the flip side, here is the good news... it felt good. I loved being outside in the nice weather - although I think I spent as much time staring aimlessly at birds and clouds and trees than anything else! I love the sounds of outside - the wind in the trees, the birds chirping, the squirrels scampering around. I absolutely LOVE digging in the dirt. It's like a whole treasure trove... I saw all kinds of bugs and found all kinds of things buried. So, I guess the girl who said she would never work in the yard, has in fact, changed her mind. I have a whole Spring and Summer full of projects out there -- and can't wait till I get it all just like I want it. And have veggies and fruits to boot!