In a Rut

[dxmachina]

Back in December as I was power shovelling out my driveway after one of the big snows we had, I had just finished clearing the end when a plow came by and closed me back in again. However, since I was standing right there, he took pity on an old man and came back around and cleared it back out. I was overjoyed. Except that it turns out that there ain't no such thing as a free plow out (TANSTAAFPO). When the snow finally melted many weeks later, I discovered that the plow had left behind a huge rut in my lawn as he cut across the end of the driveway. Couple that one up with a couple of ruts left alongside the driveway by the septic truck the winter before, and that part of the lawn was fast becoming incipient broken ankle territory.

So tonight I finally got around to doing something about it. I picked up four bags of top soil and a small bag of grass seed from the Depot, and started in. Three of the bags went into the big rut, and the fourth went into the others. Scattered some grass seed on top, then raked it in. Finally I hooked up the hose to the front spigot and watered the patch. Easy Peasy.*

* Well, except for the part where the water spigot is behind of the big rhododendrons out front of the house. This is normally not a problem, but just now they are fully in bloom, and are THE place to be if you're a bumblebee. Instead I had to work my way around the back of the juniper bush on the corner of the house, annoying because I'm slightly allergic to it.

---
The unseasonable warm weather over the weekend seems to have compressed the blooming cycles of my little ecosystem. Everything is fully in bloom. The tulips and the last of the daffodils all popped over the weekend, as did the Bradford pear. The rhododendrons are at peak, while the forsythia have just passed peak. It's all very pretty.