After spending nearly 2 months working in the basement I decided I needed a little vacation.
Nothing sounded better than a snowboarding trip. Some fresh mountain air and California sun. Initially it was to be a trip for my girlfriend and I but much to her dismay it became a trip for the boys. Boy did I screw that up. Let's just say I could of handled that one a whole lot better.
I made a few phone calls and rounded up the boys. This was a trip we had been talking about for 5 years. We talked about meeting in Mammoth and it was finally about to happen. So I flew out to LA visit a few friends and meet up with John. We drove up to Mammoth and met our other snowboarding buddies who drove down from San Francisco. We ended up riding for 5 days which was exactly what the doctor ordered. I had not been riding all year and it was a real treat (Boy was I sore though).
It doesn't get much nicer than this.
Picture pefect spring conditions.
So it was back to LA for a couple more days and then back home to get to work.
When I got back the weather was finally starting to change so it was time to start doing some yard work. A pretty major cleanup was needed from years of neglect and overgrowth. We began by taking out a few trees that had just outgrown there locations.
Part way down.
All the way down.
The other trees that came down.
Taking the trees down was a tremendous amount of work but it was worth it. It opens up both houses adding a lot more light and room. Plus they were all pines so they were very messy always filling the yard and gutters with pine needles. I also feel a little safer because they were pretty big and awfuly close to the houses. Hey you never know what mother nature may bring.
We then went through and cleaned out all the dead stuff throughout the yard over the next few days and sent it through the chipper. With just over 1 acre and a few years of neglect you can imagine how much that was. With it all shredded it was time to use what we could and push the rest down in the woods to decompose and return to the earth.
Moving all that wood and feeding the chipper was pretty exhausting work. It was well worth it in the end though. It was a healthy spring cleaning that has left the property looking a lot better and just in time for the spring bloom. Which has been magnificent to look at just a little rough on my sinuses.
Coming up next - Back in the house for a few days to do some plumbing and then it's back outside to enjoy the wonderful weather some more. Hopefully by next week I will be caught up and I will finally be writing this as things happen not a few weeks after.
Till then I leave you with this......
I look an awful lot like a stress toy. HMMMM?
