Hard Work on the Prairie

Now that both VBS and the fair are over, it is time for me to get a bit of my backed up work done. The PLAN is to work hard this week and take next week off to play, since it is one of my character weaknesses that I never take time to do anything fun. I have the personality of a workaholic hummingbird and my children are all Boxer puppies. Both sides need to stretch and grow in their own particular weak areas.

Today, after a summer of growing despair, I got my first weed eating done. I haven't been able to cut grass all season, except for one time I got a beater mower to work for about 30 minutes. And the grass has been getting taller all the time. The whole property looks quite derelict and it's been a constant source of low-level stress for me.

I'm using a borrowed weed eater, and it is quite a new experience for me. I have mostly used more modest ones, designed for the gentlewoman gardener. This one is more of the Super Destroyer 5.0 model, with an inadequate shield to boot, so it constantly kicks up debris. After a piece hit my ear and made it bleed, I wore a scarf and hat. No need to pull a Malchus!

I do think I may need to wear pants that reach all the way to my boots next time!

After weed eating, Laura and I hauled trash from our 6 month old trash pile to the trailer my dad just brought out in the last week. That will be another large thrill---having a yard that doesn't resemble the local landfill quite so strongly! It was almost 100 degrees today and nice and humid, so by the time we finished we were drenched in womanly glow.

Now it was time to play. Skjermo was too far away for the advanced hour, so we drove just down the road to one of the most heavily flooded roads. Most of the flooding is gone around where I live, but this place is so deep it's not budging till at least next summer. Not exactly a place to swim, but it was wet and pretty, and fun to wade in. The path of the roadway is lined with the pink water lilies that grow in the wetlands around here.

Laura and I had fun goofing around with the camera and enjoying the coolness of the water. The little tickles from mosquito larva and small fish were a little disconcerting, but it was totally worth it. We didn't wade all the way across, but that's one of my summer goals and I'm determined to get to it.

I took some more serious pictures, too. I'd love to go back with my sister's camera and do a serious photo shoot there. It's too pretty a spot to waste.





Don't forget to click on the panorama so you get the full beauty of the spot we were wading in.