To-mulch-uous Day

I felt like I was sleeping way late, and I was more than a little worried that I was going to wake with a hangover. I was finally up and out of bed at 810a and aside from feeling a little groggy, I was no worse for the wear. By then the sun was rising high in the morning sky. While the coffee brewed I popped my head out back to get a feel for the temperature. It was gorgeous!

I spent just a short amount of time online before grabbing my camera and slipping out on the deck and backyard to drink in the more than lovely weather. While I was out there I filled both bird feeders knowing full well that the squirrels would have a hey day with the bird house that hangs from the red maple.
Played around for nearly an hour before heading off on a run. Mindy was still sleeping and I didn’t expect her to be up anytime soon. I headed out around 915am running the typical weekend 3 mile trail. Felt great! During my run I contemplated all I wanted/hoped to accomplish. More than anything, I wanted to get and spread mulch. I didn’t expect to have much if any help, since Mindy needed to be at one of Jacob’s soccer games midafternoon.

Mindy was up and on the deck enjoying a cup of coffee when I got back from my run. We spent a little time together on the deck before I took Eiknarf on her regular morning walk. I’m thinking that it was near 10am when I headed in and made a chicken sandwich so I could have some food in my belly before heading off to get Mulch. Before heading out I had to locate the ball & hitch for the Pilot, and then head to my dad’s to pick-up his trailer. While I was heading off to get Mulch, Mindy took Bella in the Accord to get her gymnastics photos taken in Dublin.

Dad’s van was there but he didn’t seem to be home. I didn’t knock. Instead, I tried reaching his cell phone. No problem. Attached the trailer and headed off to Ohio Mulch. Even though it’s more expensive, I decided to go with bagged mulch. I bought 25 bags knowing full well I’d need to return to get 25 more later. The kid loading me threw in an extra bag because it had a hole in it. Just as I was pulling up in front of the house along the curb, my dad pulled up behind me in his Blazer. He complimented my nice looking trailer.  We headed inside for a short visit, him dropping off the corn-on-the-cob plates he talked about last week at dinner. His visit was no more than 10 minutes.

After dad departed I pulled out the tractor and my mini yard trailer. I loaded 6-7 bags each trip placing a bag about every six feel or so around the rear flower beds. By the time I unloaded all 25 bags I’d made it around 1/3 of the east side of the house. Without pause I headed back to Ohio Mulch to get another 20-25 bags calculating in my head exactly how many more bags to buy. I decided on another 25. The same kid helped me load, once again throwing in an extra bag just because.

Heaving the bags is much easier than the dealing with bulk mulch but it is still a grueling
exercise, especially after the first 20-25. The 52 bags seemed just about right. I took a short break before getting busy spreading mulch. By then Mindy was home and offered to help spread the mulch. That was music to my ears. While she changed into the proper attire, I gathered everything we’d need to do the job, including two pair of gloves, two five-gallon pails, two utility knives to slice open the bags, and two weed diggers. Because it’s been almost two months since we edged, there were a few weeds needing pulled before spreading the mulch. Mindy started over by the AC unit while started center of the deck. I gave her the more tedious area. She’s far more patient than I. This is time I can recall having all of our flowers in before spreading mulch. I wasn’t looking forward to all the extra patience and work that would require.

We worked separately for a while, or until Mindy shared that slicing, and then lifting the bags of mulch was too difficult for her. After about 20 minutes we started working as a team. We quickly developed a rhythm and were making great progress. Never did I imagine she would stay with me for the entire job. In fact, I have expected to be mulching into Sunday. She planned to make Jacob’s 2nd soccer game which unless I’m mistaken started at 330pm. Twice she offered Bella the opportunity to come out and join us. She declined both times.  Before I knew it we were around front mulching around the petunias and salvia. My job was getting out in front picking out the weeds and any loose impediments then slicing and dumping. Mindy followed behind spreading the mulch carefully around the flowers. Bella came out twice to give a time check. It was close to the time Mindy needed to leave for Jacob’s game. We ended up getting it spread all the way around the house, including the mailbox. The two blue spruce trees as well as the two curb tree. Awesome! I was thrilled.

While Mindy headed off to the soccer game I cleaned up the mess then lugged the two extra bags and stashed them under the edge of the shed. I then bolted off to Ohio Mulch again, only this time to get a load of playground mulch for the tree house area. I figured we’d need at least two cubic yards, and possibly three. The coarse playground mulch is less expensive, lighter, and very easier to work with than the hardwoods. I listened to some of the Memorial on the short drive there. Tiger was only two shots off the lead initially.

Wasn’t long before I was back at home with the first load of playground mulch. It scoops out of the trailer with relative ease. Filled my mini trailer 4 times. Each time I simply dumped the load then returned to fill it again until the larger trailer was empty. I’ll be it didn’t take but 30 minutes. Without missing a beat, I headed back to Ohio Mulch to get another cubic yard.

Got a 2nd cubic yard, only this time it looked like quite a bit more than the first load. By then Tiger began to struggle on the back nine. Had two bogeys in the matter of minutes. He was 4 strokes off the lead when I pulled up at home. I got back to hauling and dumping mulch in a hurry. I didn’t bother spreading it until I had the entire 2 cubic yards dumped. The light weight much spreads fairly easily too. I use a stiff-tined garden rake as well as a leaf rake for the final leveling. I was able to make the two yards cover, but another mini-trailer full would’ve been ideal. The dirt area has grown over the last year with all the action the area gets. Not only does the playground mulch look good, but it keeps the mud at bay too. Mindy was back from soccer just as I was leveling the entire area. She complimented my handy work.

She shared that Jacob’s team lost both games. Bummer! After putting away my rakes and the min trailer, I thought I might as well mow the lawn before putting the tractor away. I didn’t plan to push mow though. I cut as much as I could with the tractor, and quite a bit more than I usually do. As soon as I was finished I did the rest of the rear with the push mower never planning to do the front until Sunday. But once I finished out back I figured that I was already in a groove. Why not? I hurried but still did a decent job. It felt good to have the yard fully mulched and the grass cut for the week, which was far more than I ever dreamt I’d get done. While I was busy mowing, Mindy and Chrissy worked out a deal for taking and picking up our two girls to the overnight birthday party. Chrissy agreed to do the drop-off. Mindy, in turn, would do the pick-up Sunday morning.

Already 6pm, Mindy suggested I shower up in preparation for Darwin’s son, Jordan’s graduation party. It started at 5pm and went until 11pm, but we didn’t plan to get there until 7-730pm. I’m thinking that it was just after 7pm when we headed out. The party was at North Bank Park, which is off Long St on the north bank of the Scioto River and directly across the river from Veteran’s Memorial. Meter parking was reserved a free of charge. And as it turned out, we got the last meter. Cool! The weather was ideal. Felt more like September. There was even a slight chill in the evening air, so much so that we both brought light jackets. Good thing, too. Darwin & Connie were very gracious, greeting us as soon as we walked up. By then most other guests were already present and had eaten. I was starving after so much yard work and nothing to eat since my chicken sandwich several hours earlier.

While Mindy and I ate some catered food, they were just starting a commemorative video, documenting Jordan’s life from ultra sound to graduation. The video was a compilation of family photos and I’m guessing at least 200 of them. The video went on for at least 20 minutes. All done in good taste. After the video tribute several family members got up and spoke, including aunts, uncles, brothers, mom & dad, grandma and grandpa.

After video Tracy Birch walked up. Haven’t talked to Traci in years. I introduced her to Mindy, who couldn’t let go of the familiarity. Then it hit her. Traci worked at Minelli’s for something like 25-30 years. Mindy remembered her from back when her daddy was alive and they would go in for dinner. Next thing I know they’re hugging. Traci introduced us to her lovely daughter and husband. Traci is 54 her daughter is 14. While we were talking, Tim Dietz and his daughter Dana walked up (Theresa’s daughter). I gave Dana a big hug, having not seen her for as many 15-16 years, back when she and Courtney were bffs. It was nice to see her again.

Darkness set in pretty fast, and there was a lovely near full moon rising over downtown and the river. Great photo op! Mindy headed inside to chat with Connie while I hung outside talking with Darwin and one of his buddies, Brad, who also lives in Scioto Woods. We talked skiing for about 30 minutes before I headed inside to find Mindy, who was busy chatting with someone I’d never met before. Turns out, Mindy knew this girl and her family for years too. Her last name is Sax. Now about 930pm, we hung out for another five minutes or so before begging off with designs on a brief stop at CBC, - Mindy’s prompting. Made loose arrangements with the McVey’s to hook-up for a vacation planning date, an opportunity to plan meals and what not.
We opted to take Long to High St then south all the way to Mound St. Both of us were impressed at the amount of downtown foot traffic late on a Saturday night. Of course as we said it we were reminded that it was the Columbus Arts Festival. Still …

Arrived at CBC near 10pm. Parking was abundant and so were bar stools. They still had a decent crowd but by no means were they packed. Vince & Kate were tending bar. I ordered a Bodhi while Mindy ordered a glass of wine. We chatted with Kate quite a bit, her sharing a little about her fast approaching trip to the NC beaches. We eventually ordered appetizers. Mindy ordered a salad while I ordered spinach artichoke dip. I enjoyed a 2nd pint of Bodhi too. Yum-yum. It didn’t have near the effect it generally does given that I had a fairly full belly. Mindy graciously picked up the check and I drive us home. I’m think it was near 1130pm when we got there. Mindy headed straight for bed. I played around on the computer checking the Reds score as well as the Memorial results. Mindy was already asleep by the time I crawled into bed with the pug.