Dirt therapy

Gosh, I'm well and truly bushed, cream-crackered (I love this British-ism) if you will.  I've spent Friday and Saturday getting stuff done in the gardens with the help of Craig and his helpful son, N.

After my follow-up visit to the neurologist (like I said, all he did was comment that the scans were clear and even though I mentioned that my right face/neck/arm went totally numb on 2 separate occasions, he said basically - he's got nothing to offer me) the stress level had ramped up.  Thankfully N. came in the afternoon and I got a good dose of dirt therapy.

Between the two of us we accomplished (among other things):

* Removed the rest of the ill-advised landscape fabric from around the shrubs along the driveway - without wood chips (supply dried up), I kept mowing over the fabric and spraying it all over the nabe's lawn;
* raked up all the scuffle-hoed debris from the fence, veg, fertile crescent beds (which I'd done over the previous 2 days) and hauled the piles of weeds back to the compost;
* pulled up all the tripods, lattice and tomato stakes from the crescent bed;
* fetched 5 mature lavender plants from Mom's gardens (once something gets to full-size, she tends to yank stuff out deciding she suddenly 'doesn't like it');
* pushed around a couple barrow-loads of dirt and found most of the chipmunk holes, sunken spots in the lawns and pounded them full so the mower doesn't bounced into them - jarring my neck & back;
* moved a roll of wooden snow fence back to the shed; 
* transplanted a gi-normous rhubarb crown from the old veg bed, split it and planted it in one of the 3 (installed last Fall) raised beds back by the golf course;

*Whew*   Around six (4 hours later) I was a wreck but still I asked N. if he wanted more hours.  Sure!  (*pant* - a mixed blessing of a response if ever there was one)  Thankfully - about 10 minutes later he said - "Okay if I just come back tomorrow?  I'm kinda tired...."  Yay.  I would have soldiered on, assuming he wouldn't be back for a couple of weeks...

Saturday morning (early) Craig came gave the new veg bed a 3rd and final tilling as well as a quick run over the fertile crescent part of the ring bed.  Now both can be planted up - and then it will need sturdy deer protection.

N. arrived before noon and in 2.5 hours we:

* planted the 5 'rescue' lavender plants,
* cut back half-a-dozen HUGE butterfly bushes to the ground (to regrow),
* collected all the recently-fallen branches from around the yard,
* filled more sink holes
* etc.

And, like Friday, while he was busy, I was mowing lawns and BAGGING the clippings.  Since he was available to wrestle the full bags and dump them on beds, I was eager to collect as much as I could as the lawns this Spring are thick and lush and growing fast.

I'm so glad we got so much done, but I'm sure looking forward to a nice quiet Sunday!  I noticed the asparagus is popping so that's certainly on the menu today and I think there is a good film coming on this afternoon.  Just what the doctor ordered.  (Well, not any of MY doctors.... idiots.)