Seasonal Changes

We're finally getting some spring weather here!
As a homeowner, the changing seasons always bring a huge pile of seasonal chores. We've been busy switching snow shovels for gardening tools. The snowblower is now replaced by 2 mowers and the rototiller. The vegetable peelings in the compost can, that we keep by our back porch all winter, have been rotated into our compost pile.

Spring raking, in northern MN, can be tricky; timing is EVERYTHING! The time between the ground being dry enough to rake and the time when the new grass is 6 inches high, and must be mowed, can be as short as 2 days. Last weekend our window of opportunity arrived.

We have a HUGE yard, and have never been able to hand rake the entire lawn before mowing season overtakes us....until 2 years ago. We bought a high-wheeled, rear bagging mower. Then we bought a power rake blade for our old mower, and lowered the wheels. Now, I run the power rake mower, which rakes and chops the leaves and dead grass. L follows with the bagger mower and sucks up all the debris. We raked our whole yard in 3 1/2 hours!

We finished in the nick of time. The following day, we had 30 mph winds, followed by a couple of days of sprinkly rain. We didn't get enough rain to alleviate our drought conditions, but we got enough to green things up. I live in fear that some idiot will throw a lit cigarette out their car window, or burn their yard waste, and burn us all out in a matter of minutes! Our trees are just starting to bud. Soon we'll have a canopy of green which will obliterate our neighbor's junky yard for the summer.

I also did a quick inspection tour of our home's exterior. There was only one spot where the caulk had pulled away during the winter. I managed to get a new coat of caulk applied before the rain started. None of our fresh paint peeled!! Whooohoooo!! It looks like the new primer did the trick!




Spring also brings a host of indoor chores as well.
I've been busy washing our winter jackets, packing them away for the summer, and unpacking the summer outerwear. I've packed away our sweaters, replacing them with shorts, T-shirts, and tank tops.

I've also been thoroughly drying our winter boots, before packing them away. The Peet boot dryer, pictured above, has been my best friend for the past 10 years! If you have kids that love to wade through the snow, this item is a blessing! Our doorside rug is now sporting tennis shoes and sandals, instead of klunky boots.

Hairry has successfully completed his annual trip to the vet for heartworm meds. 20 years ago, heartworm was only a threat in southern MN. In 2 short years, our county has gone from 2 reported cases of heartworm to 72 cases! If you're a dog owner, PLEASE check with your vet about the existence of this horrible disease in your area!

Now that we've completed the imperative spring chores, we can move on to our list of summer projects. This list is so long that it will require a post of its own. If I'm AWOL from blogging, you'll know where I am....slaving away in the yard or garage.