Needless to say, I'm not usually allowed to plant anything. Since I don't plant, I don't usually take care of the plants either. I really think they smell me and die so I stay far away.
But when you have a big backyard, even without a garden, you have weeds. And the weeds we have growing by our septic sprinklers are bigger-than-Texas weeds. We planted trees last year that are smaller than some of the weeds--I'm not even joking.
So, Friday night, Brian mentioned that the weeds need to be pulled so we can mow. (Y'all, they are so big, the riding mower won't go over them!) He showed me how to use the pick to dig them up so it didn't leave as big a hole as the shovel. No worries--I can do this.
Saturday morning, I got out there and about killed myself. There are 2 patches of them and I made it through the 1st (easier) patch. I got about halfway through the other-which, let me just say, made me feel like I was in an episode of Swamp People it was so mushy! Lots of ibuprofen and sore back and shoulders later, here is what I learned:
- If you don't get the whole root, you will deal with the same weed again
- It's easy to ignore the little weeds to attack the big ones, but they are just as dangerous
- Some weeds take digging from all 4 sides before they come loose and then you still may need to tug to get them out
- There is no way around tasting some dirt if you are truly committed
- When you know you've missed the root, it's easier to pull your tool out and start over in the right spot rather than try to muscle through
- It's gonna take more than a water hose to clean off all the dirt/mud
- You've got to stop every once in a while and look up and get perspective; otherwise, it will feel like you are getting nothing accomplished
- The ground will probably not look pretty when you are done
- When your daughter makes you pancakes (esp. after a hard parenting bout the night before), you need to stop and take a break
- Hearing someone else cheer you on and tell you how good it is looking, will give you energy when you think you want to quit
- If you wear athletic shorts, make sure they are long enough that you don't moon the passing cars when you lean over (cuz you will be leaning over a LOT)
