Job Done!

The weather has changed here in the Seattle area.  It's now dry and cold, good weather for tackling that big job that has been sitting in our driveway for four weeks.

We have had leaves delivered from a yard care company for many years.  We use the leaves to mulch our garden beds for the winter.  The blanket of leaves adds humus to the sandy soil, gets the worms working, discourages weeds, and keeps the winter rains from compacting the soil.  Our trees are mostly evergreens, so we don't produce lots of leaves here in our own yard.

Yesterday we got a good start on the job.  We got Isaac, who was home from school on a sick day, settled on the couch in front of the TV.  He watched Home and Garden channel most of the morning.  Then by 9:00 we were hard at work.

It was cold, but working kept us warm.

By 11:15 Tom was getting weary and I had to clean up to go to a lunch date with retired teacher friends.  Grandpa fed an improving Isaac lunch and rested before getting back to work.  He moved all the rest of the tender plants into the greenhouse.

I was home and back outside by 2:30 and we worked until we were too tired and the sun was going down.

This morning there was frost on the diminishing pile of leaves.

 The work we had already done looked good in the sunlight.

Isaac had recovered enough to be back in school.  We got a slower start outside.

 We couldn't quite make it to the finish before we stopped for lunch at 1:00.  Tom really needed a rest, and he got in a short nap during our lunch hour.  I was a bit concerned about how tired he was getting.  He grinned and said " It used to be easier".

We finally saw the end of the pile, but then we had a lot of clean up to do.

 It bugs us that we can't get all of the leaves off the driveway, but these are frozen in place.

 Pile Gone!  Driveway cleaned up!

I took care of a few other jobs and then got my camera to record our garden now put to bed for the winter.

 There was sun on the deck and in the tree tops.  Here the magnolia stellata is full of buds for spring flowers.

 We do still have that dead dogwood laying over on the trellis to deal with.

The oak leaf hydrangea is just beginning to color up.

 Cedar tree mulch on the paths.

 Cedar tree droppings cleaned up on the gravel paths.

It was 4:00 when we finished up and posed briefly for a self portrait of two people very happy to have that job done.  We didn't linger for a glass of wine.  It's too cold!

We're thinking we might not do this again.  It's hard work.  But I have to say, I loved being outside in the sunlight and getting my exercise by working in the yard.  I feel good!