Its a good kind of hurt.

Can’t move. Nope not one single muscle in my body is capable of moving. Send Advil by the truck load. What is it about home improvement projects that they start out so small and insignificant, and blossom into one giant monster, far exceeding both the time commitment and the money allocated for the project? Home Depot needs to come with a warning label.

In the six years we have lived in the house our flower and shrub beds have been slowing loosing bark. For two years Rick and I have been saying each summer that we need to address the bark issue, but oddly enough we have always found something more compelling to do. This is why it is good to have big events held at your house because it forces you to address all those projects around your house you try to ignore. Our motivation was the wedding reception of Courtney Hurdle.

This is the wedding invitation.

Our original plan was just to do an area in the back yard by the arbor because it would be highly visible during the reception. We purchased 8 fifty pound bags of bark and believe that it would be more than enough to complete the project and smell good to boot. The eight bags disappeared quickly and the area was not done. Rick went back to Home Depot and returned with 20 bags. This easily finished the project, and allowed us to address other beds in our back yard. The back yard was looking mighty fine when we were done.

Then we went into the front yard and began looking at a very neglected area adjacent to the street. It was bad, as in Linda and I were pulling out a healthy crop of wild carrots, along with other weeds and debris. With the back yard looking so great, and knowing that people would be parking on the street, we knew it could not be neglected. Back to Home Depot and another 20 bags of bark. After we finished it did not even look like we live here anymore. I fully expect the neighbors to assume we have sold the house to someone who actually cares about the landscaping.

While we were barking, Jeff was mowing, and completing several odds and end projects, including replacing a railroad tie around the playground. Mark took the opportunity to help papa pound the nails in. For a boy who lacks the hand eye coordination to color or write, he does not lack the hand eye coordination to pound a nail. I have decided that Jeff needs to take up coloring and writing the ABC’s in order to spark some interest in Mark to exhibit some level of competency in those areas. Perhaps they could do it in the shop and Mark would think it’s part of hanging out with papa…...

Now for the best part, long after the bride and groom have driven off into the sunset, the cleanup is completed, and the parents of the bride and groom are relieved it is all over, I get to enjoy the beauty of my yard for the rest of the summer, and with the bark complete I now have one less thing in my life to feel guilty about, and that is a good thing!

NOTE: For those of you who want to see just how cool my yard turned out, I will be posting pictures of the reception on my blog on Saturday night. I told the bride I would provide the yard and it was her canvas to decorate.