Spring Chores

It's a shame how out of shape one can get over the winter months. The truckloads of pine bark and top soil arrived yesterday afternoon, and I immediately began spreading the bark in the flowerbeds and around trees. I hauled maybe 20 wheelbarrow loads of bark, 4 loads of topsoil and planted a few caladiums. After that, I was ready to crash. Last summer, that small amount of exercise would have hardly been noticed.

This morning, I awoke stiff and sore, and tried to work it out by digging a new flowerbed. I managed to get it half done before I called it a day, but it's supposed to storm tomorrow, so it might be several days before I finish.

I saw the first hummingbird of the season...a male Rubythroat...and he announced his arrival by slamming into the kitchen window. He wasn't hurt, but he had better learn which flight paths he can take and which ones he can't.

I got a letter from the IRS today that nearly gave me cardiac arrest. They said we missed listing a substantial amount of income, but it turned out that the bank that transferred Judy's IRA when we moved, mis-coded the paperwork so it looked like she had withdrawn the entire IRA.