Sod 'em Some More

I slept until just before 7:30am. I felt pretty good considering I got just under 6 hours of sleep. Unlike Saturday, the sky was totally gray, temporarily taking some of my motivation away. After exercise, Ykraps and I headed out for our morning walk. I was eager to get through my routine so that I could get cracking on yard work. To that end, I left for my run a little earlier than most Sunday’s. I was out there by 8:30am. I ran just three miles. The sky was still gray with a thin overcast, but the sun was easily visible through all of it. It was another very nice run. Mindy was still in bed when I got back. I delivered some coffee are shared that I was leaving to fetch some sod. Off I went to fetch my dad’s trailer. My dad was gone but the trailer was waiting and ready to go, or so I thought. After hooking it up I checked the tire pressure, not wanting to risk a repeat of the tire debacle two years ago. Sure enough, both tires were low, one more so than the other. I wisely had my 12volt air compressor in tow, but had to detach the trailer and pull it up along side the Trooper so the pump would reach. A hassle, for sure, but well worth it. I also wanted to loosen the tailgate but dad had it bolted down tight. I didn’t think to bring a wrench. Crap. I couldn’t risk the 10 mile drive and find they wanted to load the sod via forklift, but not be able to do so because I couldn’t remove the tailgate. I looked in his uncovered boat and found a travel socket set. Problem solved. Off I went. By the way, I noticed that the trailer lights weren’t working either. No time for that. I didn’t stress over it, but acknowledged the slight risk. I arrived at Strader’s still before 10:30am. I was thrilled to see roughly the same amount of sod as yesterday evening. I know it sells fast this time of year. I parked next to the stuff and went inside to pay for 70 pieces. The place was filling up fast but the check-out line was still small. I knew that wouldn’t last. The cashier radioed back for help loading my purchase. Three friendly Mexican guys came around the corner pronto and loaded as much of the order as they could fit into the trailer. Turns out, they could get only 40 pieces on board. I lost count they were moving so fast. Fine. I’d return for the other 30 after unloading and spreading these. And because the area in question is so oddly shaped, I wasn’t sure how much I needed anynway. I could be that I wouldn’t need all 70. On the other hand, I might need even more. The sky cleared sometime during my trip to Strader’s. It was sunny & warm, almost 65 degrees and it wasn’t even noon. I parked at the curb and went inside. Mindy whipped me up a fast sandwich to devour before our work started. She planned to head out and help me lay the sod too. What a wife! I used Kenny’s plywood sheets as ramps over the curb and into the yard. The one in the yard would protect the lawn from being destroyed by repeated wheel barrow trips. I hauled just two rolls of sod on my initial trip up the yard. I was covered with mud in a jiffy. It was dripping wet. All subsequent trips I hauled three at a time. That was some rough sledding, too. I’d guess each roll weighs between 40-50lbs, depending on how wet. Mindy did OK sliding the first few pieces into place, but tuckered quickly. It’s like lifting a dead body, not that I’ve ever done so. Moving forward, I helped her move each piece strategically into place. We got ourselves into a nice rhythm. As we progressed, I decided to strip away some old weed infested grass along the edge of my rear flower beds and directly adjacent to the graded area. I used the square shovel to strip it away. That’s hard work, too. In fact, nothing we were doing was that easy. Finally, the picture began to come together. It was looking really nice. I am so glad we opted for sod over seeding. Instant gratification. Instead of 40 pieces, we only had 39. No big deal. I’d simply tell them when I went back for the remainder. I left for Strader’s around 12:30pm. I was happy to see that they still had sod, especially given that I’d paid for 31 more. The guys loaded me quickly and gave me problem for the one I was shorted. Not that I expected one. I also knew, judging by the area remaining that we’d need even more. I went inside and paid for ten more rolls. It was already loaded when I returned to my rig. Back home. I dumped some additional dirt in a few strategic spots before proceeding with the sod. I got a little tricky placing sod around the contoured beds and sprinkler heads but we figured it out. We ran out of sod around 3:30pm. We’d need even more. I asked Mindy to estimate our need. She asked that I get 20 more rolls. I’d do that on Monday as long as I could find more. By the time I got things put away and cleaned up it was almost 4:20pm. We needed to be at Sunday dinner before 5pm. I took a quick shower before we headed out. Before dinner, Mindy’s mom made yet another disparaging comment to me, only this time about our ‘dirty’ lamp shades. Not sure why, but she has no problem doling out unsolicited criticism. She’s the antithesis of Grandma Wright. Dinner was very good. We had chicken, goulash, au gratin potatoes, and cooked carrots. For dessert we had brownies and strawberry flan cake. I asked Mindy how she felt about stopping by Lindsey’s to see the boys on our way home. She was game. I called Lindsey to arrange the visit. According to Lindsey, Rocky was sick in bed with a fever. Maybe another night. At home, Jacob and I walked Ykraps. All the neighbors were out talking. Mindy & Bella soon joined. It was a lovely mid-spring evening. The kids bathed and showered and were tucked into bed by 8:30pm. I made some popcorn around 9pm while watching a show about Yellowstone. Per usual, the smell woke Bella. Mindy scornfully shewed her back to bed. Both of us were feeling the effects from laying the sod earlier. We headed to bed around 10pm.