Our yard and house have been ignored too long; a bad back followed by back surgery, and then a gimpy shoulder followed by shoulder and bicep surgery has taken its toll on our ability to take care of things around the house. We’ve tried hiring it done, but first of all, it’s hard to get anyone to rake leaves and put out mulch. Secondly, they charge an exorbitant amount for such work. And thirdly, none have been able to satisfy us in terms of quality and completeness. Thus, we’re the only ones to do the work if it is to get done.

On Monday, still recovering from all the yard work on Sunday, I rode over to watch the “Chicks” play pickleball at Diamante, but there were not enough to play, and of course I volunteered. Kay had medical appointments most of the afternoon. Late in the afternoon, I walked around the back yard looking for things to photograph and was surprised to see a Black and White Warbler. It was only the second one I have seen and the first was in Gilbert, Arizona.

There were also a few Yellow-rumped Warblers darting from limb to limb, and a Blue-winged Teal was swimming in the lake just off the dock. 

Even a dandelion posed for a photo.

Kay played pickleball on Tuesday, and we shared a quiet evening. Just looking around, the office is a disaster as photography and computer equipment are scattered all over the place.

Kay played her first golf with the Duffers on Wednesday and shot a pretty decent game, hitting her “Heaven” wood (Callaway 7 wood) and putting well. My semi-annual medical exam took place on Wednesday, and all is well, relatively speaking. I had lost 17 pounds since my last visit, and blood sugar levels had dropped in half—but they were still too high. He asked if I had fallen lately and I said yes, six times, playing pickleball. He said that didn’t count! Dinner was a petite chopped broccoli salad at Diamante for each of us, and it was really good.

Early Thursday morning, eleven lemony blueberry/cranberry muffins were made with sourdough discard, followed by preparing and smoking a rack of ribs on the Big Green Egg. I then repeated Monday morning’s pickleball activities, not intending to play but the “Chicks” were again short one player. The four of us had some great matches! Following pickleball, I tried to play 18 holes of golf, but my back hurt too much. Consequently, I played only 11 holes. Kay played duplicate bridge. And then, in the afternoon, we planted almost three dozen flowers, all intended to attract pollinators, especially butterflies and hummingbirds. Once again, we both were dirty, sore, and near “exhaustion”. It’s sometimes hard to remember that we’re in our mid-70s! I take that back. After pickleball, golf, and gardening, it’s pretty darn easy to remember—soreness in the knees and back, and leg cramps don’t let you forget!

Working in the yard has not been kind to my Lumbar Spinal Stenosis; my back is in constant pain! But, we keep on working to get things in shape for late spring and summer, and we only lack a few more days until completion. Consequently, we were back at it on Friday morning, continuing to prune the significantly overgrown Creeping Juniper. It has just about creeped over the entire front “yard”. After about three hours of hard work, the rock and gravel work in the yard can be seen once again, and accumulated leaves and pine straw can be collected. Shredding/chipping will be put off until a later date.

On Saturday, we traveled to Conway to watch grandson Ridge play AAU basketball. They won their first game with outstanding three-point shooting, but lost the second to a much taller and older team. In fact each of their players was as tall as I am—about 5’ 10”. Of course, Ridge was quite dejected, but he played well, rebounding, passing, and playing outstanding defense. It rained most of the day, keeping us inside.

Though Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest, more yard work called after church. It’s hard to tell if progress is being made since work efforts are so slow!