Loose Ends Before I Left

Before leaving for Greece, I had a couple warm days to work with and so I worked underneath the deck stacking the ten year old firewood into my firewood rack and wadding up the tarp. I put it in the planter box to the left for now until a week with light trash when I can fit it in with our normal trash. I shoveled all the leaves and debris left underneath the woodpile and hauled that down to the compost pile. It makes it look more inviting when it doesn't look like a dump site. I was surprised at how much firewood I still have, probably enough for two more winters, like this last one. If we ever get a real winter back, then that probably is a year's worth for us. It is nice that we burn wood only for soul therapy and not for heat. 

On a roll, I fired up the tiller and worked the entire garden. It worked up nice but is pretty dry. I was kicking up dust and at that time, we were only two days into March. In a normal year, it is raining every other day here throughout most of March. There is no rain in the 12 day forecast which takes us to the middle of March.

On my list of things to do had been to tear up that old firepit. I would like to build a new one somewhere else. The old one is broken down to a nub so there really is no wall to keep the fire contained anymore and the weeds grow as fast as I can spray/mow them off. Plus it is just plain ugly. But fate intervened by sending RAGBRAI (Registers Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) through our town this summer and already, we have pledged to host up to 25 tents and 50 riders for one night. that means, if I had torn up the firepit, it would hopefully be just planted grass growing and not someplace I would want trampled. So I'm leaving that project for the fall and when they have left our lawn. Who knows, perhaps we might get a few bonfires out of it yet while we admire our garden before I tear it out.