On and off during a rocky 2018 (winter, spring, and early summer) I’ve posted about difficulties. I want other folks who’re getting shafted by life to know they’re not alone. Life ‘aint as pretty as folks make it look on their Facebook feeds y’all. For a few folks, seeing someone else in the shit gives them hope. (Or not, maybe I’m just a whiny little wuss. Hard to tell.)
All storms pass eventually and I’ve made some progress. Less than two weeks ago I was fretting over a lawn that hadn’t been mowed all year. (Literally not mowed since the snow melted! That’s an issue when a raggedy ass lawn is the only thing that separates you from the forest (and possibly forest fires). If you’re worried about Gaia like she’s perpetually on the fainting couch, remember that the same processes that make a bristlecone pine last centuries can be cranked into overdrive by kudzu. Nature doesn’t abhor a vacuum, she nukes it.)
Mechanically I was backsliding. My truck was acting like the Dodge it is, I’d broken my lawnmower (TWICE!) trying (and failing) to tame the lawn, and my motorcycle was still in “winter storage” (i.e. crammed next to the snowblower and grey with thick layers of dust). The seasonal “starting of the engines” had been derailed. I’d already jump started the mower (long enough to break it) but the bike was kaput and the ATV was limping. (Don’t give me crap about battery maintainers. I have a fleet of ’em but by spring everything is either weak or dead… sometimes including the humans.)
Now, less than two weeks later:
- The Dodge steers where you point it. (For now.)
- The lawnmower starts and runs. Plus I’ve repaired some redneck engineered upgrades which also broke. (I swore I’d posted the upgrades on my blog… but can’t find the link. Sorry.)
- The motorcycle is dusty but up and running. (All hail Honda!)
The lawn, which vexes me considerably, has passed through triage mowing and is in beginning stages of “nearly under control”. I’m going to win this race. I had to resort to extreme measures. By August, if it’s hot and dry enough, I’ll mow the ever lowing shit out of it in a deliberate bout of setback mowing. That said, it is an area that occupies about 2/3 the footprint of what was “mowed area” last year. Am I pissed that the lawn “shrank” as the forest started invading? Nah… maybe the part that’s running wild is sufficient to encourage a few rabbits? I’ll probably start prowling for unassembled rabbit stew in the fall. One more chance to explore the “why are do rabbits suck at staying alive in this location” conundrum.
I’m also making progress with PAWIRNEATT (Project About Which I’d Rather Not Elaborate At This Time). This is a non-essential hobby endeavor… which (in light of 2018) seems to have become the very epitome of essential. (As is fishing, which I still haven’t gotten to yet.)
Also, my dog is healthy! In fact, all the Curmudgeon Compound residents seem to be doing OK. A blessing I don’t take lightly.
Progress! There’s more but I’m too busy to write… and in fact the blog has taken it in the shorts on my list of priorities lately. Thus, no squirrels. Sorry folks, please don’t give up on me. I’m still faster than that Game of Thrones guy and he probably wasn’t spending his summers holding back entropy.