Spring cleaning

With warmer weather and daylight savings time now here, I took my traditional walk around my yard this past weekend, mentally cataloging what I have to do this spring.

Every year it gets more and more overwhelming and the situation this year has been complicated by the October snow storm that brought down numerous limbs and branches. While I welcome the opportunity to add to my store of firewood, it is just one more thing I need to do.

I have found that the area I attempt to keep free of leaves is smaller and smaller every year. I've decided that it's no big deal if leaves cover the back hill. I'll just mow them into what little grass there is. Also, unlike some guys I talk to from time to time, I have no problem whatever with moss. Moss is green, it doesn't need to be mowed and it is harmless. In fact it's nice to sit on a moss covered area to relax.

Also complicating my spring cleanup endeavors is a chronic back yard drainage problem that has plagued my yard since our house was built.

The builder installed a curtain drain around my backyard to drain off the water that is constantly running down our back hill. The problem is he backfilled the pipe with soil instead of crushed rock thus rendering the system pretty much useless.

I finally managed to find the pipe and remove the mud enough to start the drain flowing. Now I have to lengthen the ditch and fill it with rock. That should help matters for at least the rest of the time we're in this house.

And so it goes, the yearly ritual of spring cleanup!