My Aching Back!

I am fairly confident that this blog post will not be lengthy. I didn't realize until I sat down to type that I am having a difficult time feeling my hands and moving my fingers. I did not realize that the human body could be this sore!

Last week Scott and I rented a pick up truck to gather our landscaping supplies. We unloaded tons of stone and mulch into piles in the center of the driveway. By the end of the day we were exhausted but pleased that we had accomplished our goal.

Unfortunately our victory from last week has quickly morphed into an eye sore. I felt like the mulch pile was taunting me every time I saw it. It was as if the mulch knew that it had defeated me and that it was destined to wash away instead of being laid in our flower beds. I began to hate that mulch pile!

Today was forecast to be a beautiful day. The temperature was going to be in the low 80's, and the skies were a brilliant, happy looking blue. I decided that, instead of riding the bike this morning, I would mulch a flower bed.

We live in the woods, but it became glaringly obvious that we are painfully ill-equipped. I looked though the garage for some sort of tool to help me move the mulch. I found a dirt digging shovel and a small flat shovel. I suppose that my ignorance concerning the correct names for these tools serves as an indication of my landscaping experiences. I weighed my options, which were limited, and opted to use the snow shovel because it is both wide and light weight.

So I began my battle against my double shredded adversary. I took a large scoop of mulch into the snow shovel and walked up the hill to place it in the flower bed. It certainly didn't cover much surface area. I knew I needed a better plan.

Keeping with the "snow equipment" theme, I began to load the mulch onto Robby's snow sled. I found that I could fit four snow shovel scoops of mulch onto the sled. My trips up and down the hill were cut by 75%. I began to see a small dent in the pile.

I worked for 90 minutes, but I finally spread the mulch on the large flower bed. Spreading mulch is not easy. I suppose that is why we haven't done it in nearly four years. I knew that, in order to defeat the pile, I needed to continue working.

Before I knew it, I had been working for nearly 3 hours. I was in the zone, scooping into the sled, pulling the sled up the hill and dumping the mulch. I almost didn't notice my neighbor Bill standing in front of the mulch mound when I returned to refill the sled.

Bill was standing next to a pitch fork and a wheelbarrow. I thanked him the offer to borrow the supplies, but I assured him that I was fine. I explained that the sled was working, and that the snow shovel is scooping up large amounts. He muttered "Don't work harder. Work smarter. Good luck." He left the pitch fork and the wheelbarrow.

Intent on proving that the sled and snow shovel were adequate, I tried the pitch fork and wheelbarrow method. It worked. It was also a lot easier. I guess there is something to be said for using the correct tools for the job.

I continued working throughout the afternoon, slowly beating the mulch pile into submission. After six hours, I swept away the remnants of my opponent and was deemed the victor. I attempted to do my happy dance, but I ultimately ended up hurting my back.

The flower beds in my front yard are completely covered and, if I do say so myself, they look beautiful. I am proud of myself for completing such a labor intensive task. For a moment, when I looked at the empty spot on my driveway where the mulch had been, I felt like a super hero.

I can feel my muscles tightening, and my back is starting to hurt. I cannot fully clench my fist and my stump is beginning to feel sore. I had a difficult time taking Advil because it took me awhile to will my hands to move towards my mouth. Tomorrow I may need assistance from both Wonder Woman and Superman in order to get out of bed!