Sigh!

So did it get too hot too soon? Are the pollen and dust too unbearable? Are we getting lazy or soft? Has Andy been out of commission too long with his bad back? Is the work load overwhelming? Whatever the reason, both of us were seriously lacking in motivation to get out and do our yard work? It's not that it isn't beautiful out there, because the weather has been "perfect" the last couple of days. So as much as there is to do, it was still there as of yesterday morning.

One thing that finally got us out there was to hire a couple of young boys (aged 14) to come help. That was a real shot in the arm. They were so glad to get outside and do physical labor (instead of book work - they are homeschooled). A lot of the work was just grunt work: lifting, hauling, digging. A tree had fallen down at the pond during a winter storm. Even though it had been cut into smaller pieces, it was still lying there. So these boys, along with Andy, hauled all the logs and branches to the street for pickup by the township. They raked up the area as well so now we'll be able to run the mower over that spot. Then there was another tree that Christian had cut down, but it was so heavy that when it fell, it made a trench. So the boys filled in that ditch with topsoil and tamped it down and evened it out.They worked for 3, almost 4 hours with us. When they finished a job we had given them, they asked, "what's next?" When we thanked them for their hard work, they actually said they were thankful to us. They love to work and can't get a job yet because they're still too young. Can you imagine! I hope we can hire them again soon. They were an inspiration.I took a turn about the yard and snapped some pictures. The lilacs I planted last summer are doing well.And the irises someone gave me are blooming.
This is a perennial geranium. I planted it last summer and it's doing very well this spring. I'm happy with it and might just get a couple more plants.I also went out Monday evening and bought some potted flowers to plant in my planters around the house. They add so much joy and happy feelings as I come in the driveway. And not to me only; two different visitors yesterday commented on how pretty they are.After all the work was done yesterday, I went out to stroll around and came across a visitor sitting in our driveway. I called Andy to come look, he called his parents and the neighbors. It was Mr. Snapper Turtle. He didn't seem to be phased that we were all gawking at him, but stared right back at us for several moments before lumbering off. We don't know where he came from or where he was going. I hope he knew, although there was no water in the direction he was headed!