The messy family works on Labor Day

The messy family is still trying to clean up our act.  Today we focused on the outdoors.  That can get messy too, just like the inside.  I didn't take any pictures because I wanted to focus on the work, not on getting the right shots. I can't multi-task that way.

We pulled weeds, cut down volunteer trees that were springing up (we have a lot of oak and maple trees around and there are always seedlings showing up), and chopped up some wood remaining from a tree that had come down in a storm. 

I spent most of my time on the front walkway and steps.  It's brick, and weeds are always popping up in the little spaces.  It had gotten really out of hand and looked terrible.  I remembered an old tip and boiled some water to pour over the weeds.  The idea as I originally saw it was to kill the weeds so they could be pulled out later, but the hot water softened up the dirt enough that they were easy to pull out.  My girl got out the leaf blower and blew everything down the steps.  Then we whisked it into the yard waste can.  It looks better than it had in a long time. 

So often these messes become invisible to us.  I have to really make an effort to see the areas that need work.  I don't enjoy this sort of work - I would have preferred to spend the time in the hammock reading and drinking iced coffee.  But it looked so good when we were done, and we still had time for a great dinner and watching half of The Two Towers.    Not a bad way to spend a holiday.