Mulch Day 2010

Not being a work day, I slept in until just after 6am. Mindy remained sleeping as I headed downstairs to tend to the puppy and start my exercise routine. Before anything else, I took the puppy outside. She took care of business quickly. Good girl! Already after 610am, I woke Mindy before doing sit-ups and push-ups. I kept Frankie with me while I exercised. I decided that I wouldn’t run until the kids were safely on the school bus. That left me almost two hours to do as I pleased. I updated my blog through Saturday while Mindy & the kids carried on with their morning like any other school day. It was a gorgeous morning with sunny skies and already near 60 degrees. The day’s high expected to reach into the mid 70’s. I received Woody at the bus stop and headed to the back yard before taking both puppies inside. I wanted to give them an opportunity to go potty. Good call, both took care of business. Inside, the dogs played/fought endlessly. I started to question why I volunteered to keep both. How would I manage my day – run? Get mulch? I fetched the old baby gate from the basement thinking I would trap them in the kitchen area, but that still left too much for them to get into. I got wise. I put Frankie in her pen and Woody in our soaking tub then left for my run. I ran four miles. Gorgeous! I was back from my run by 920am. The puppies remained quiet, Frankie visibly napping. I left them be, and then prepared to leave to fetch mulch. I headed to Dad’s to get his trailer. I almost pulled out of Dad’s drive without locking the trailer down to the hitch receiver ball. That could’ve been ugly. Not much of a crowd at Ohio Mulch, but then again, I didn’t expect one. It was a Tuesday morning. While at the walk-up window making my purchase, I noticed a couple Upper Arlington cruisers with their beacons flashing just behind the Ohio Mulch property. The girl working the counter said there must’ve been a crime but wasn’t sure just what. Said they’d been there all morning. I asked if it was simply an exercise, this being next door to where they store all their trucks, buses, plows, trash, etc. Two male employees were already loading my trailer with 25 bags of mulch. When I asked them about the cops they quickly replied that it’s just an exercise – do it daily. That made sense to me. Said the girls inside were clueless. I simply laughed then departed for home. Before doing anything with the mulch, I got the puppies out to play both inside and out. Woody was sound asleep. It didn’t take long for them to start going at it, however. We played for about 45 minutes. I made myself a sandwich too. Hmmm? I’ve never been a sandwich before. Not bad, but short lived.  After playtime, I put the puppies in their respective storage containers then headed out to place the mulch. I got out the Deere and pull behind trailer then loaded 7 bags at a time for yard delivery. I placed the bags in the rear beds first dropping all 25. After a brief break, I grabbed my keys and made a second trip to Ohio mulch for another load of 25 bags. This time the Arlington cops were doing some sort of shooting drill. Must’ve unloaded upwards of 100 round while I was there. This time they were a little busier. I loaded most of the mulch myself. I took an extra bag for all my effort. Back home, I quickly got the Deere back out and toted and placed the next 25 bags around the front and side beds. Afterwards, I took a break and let the dogs out for about an hour where we played mostly outback. They wrestled the entire time rolling down the hill and romping all over the back yard – very cute! Around 1pm I put the puppies down for yet another nap then headed out to start spreading the mulch. Buying in bags cuts the labor considerably, and the additional cost is minimal ($4 per cubic yard in my case). But even then, after slicing open 25 bags and spreading it neatly my body ached head to toe. I finished the back and the east side beds by 3:30pm. I decided to stop, relax and get the puppies. While outside playing under the trees, Bill, Chrissy’s father-in-law, stopped by to pick up Woody. That made life much easier on me. Frankie alone is no trouble at all. The kids got home from school a short time later. Bella took over puppy patrol. It was after 4pm. I did some miscellaneous yard chores until Mindy got home. She brought me fresh ice water and Advil. I took three. Next, I transplanted the remaining two 10” geraniums and vinca vines into the two hanging baskets for the Ash trees. They look incredible! And since I had the ladder out, I took the extra time to tie back the mature Virginia Creeper vines growing up the Ash trees. Many of the large vines have broken loose from the trees lower trunk and swing freely. While tying back the vines, I found part of a jaw bone from what I assumed to belong to a raccoon lodged in the trees bark. I found that highly unusual. While put the finishing touches on the transplanting, Mindy was putting the finishing touches on our dinner: baked boneless chicken breast, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy. I took a quick shower before sitting for dinner. Aside from being achy, I was a sweaty, dirty mess. Dinner was delicious. Jacob, I forgot to add, was at soccer practice with his daddy. After dinner and clean-up, Chrissy asked Mindy & I if we’d keep Makayla and Woody while she went to fetch Jake from karate. We gladly agreed. Too, she shared with Mindy that they’ll most likely be joining us for our summer vacation to Clearwater. Still need to make their reservations though. We pretty much played outside with the puppies the entire time that she was gone. The puppies headed towards her yard where we followed and sat on the putting green while they played. Chrissy got home around 730pm and joined us outback. Not long after she got home, neighbors Mike & Teri joined us. Jacob arrived home from soccer around 8pm. He opted to play before eating his dinner, which Mindy had ready & waiting in the microwave. As 830 neared, I ran home to fetch some more ice water and to make a copy of our airline reservations to give Chrissy. She planned to mimic our flights if possible. Mindy called the kids inside for the night. Jacob ate dinner while Bella showered. I made popcorn for Bella and I. We ended up eating two bags after she complained about not getting enough of the first batch. The kids were in bed late – about 930pm. I stayed up a while longer dosing on the sofa. Mindy woke me near 1015pm when I promptly headed to bed.