Greetings, my fellow port swillers!
A red letter day today for Ol’ Robbo as it was the first time this year that I was able to get out into the Port Swiller Manor demesne and begin getting it ready for spring. Woo Hoo! I knew I missed being able to potter around outside, but I didn’t realize just how much so until I started in on it.
A perfect morning, too. Sunny, coldish but not cold, little wind. The maples and cherries continue to bud and I noticed the daffodils have broken ground while my peonies are just about to.
My task today was to focus on the garden, cutting down the butterfly bush, trimming back the roses, and, noticing that the hydrangea behind the fence were encroaching more than they should, whacking them back as well. Altogether, Ol’ Robbo was at it for about five hours.
All I can say is man, am I out of shape. None of these tasks were exactly heavy-duty, but all that clipping, to say nothing of the squatting, kneeling, bending, and hauling has left me pretty achy.
But a good kind of achy. (Indeed, Ol’ Robbo has an idea he read something recently to the effect that this kind of weekend warrior stuff is in fact more beneficial for us desk-bound paper-pushers than previously thought. Hopefully getting back into the groove will make me feel better than I have most of this wintah.)
Glad I was able to enjoy the day, too, because Ma Nature appears to be serving up another Storm of the Century of the Week for Port Swiller Manor in the form of a Nor’easter which is supposed to hit late tomorrow and into Monday. Five to eight inches is what Ol’ Robbo is hearing at the moment, which is a pretty respectable snowfall for these parts. I don’t doubt I have some shoveling awaiting me in the not-so-distant future. (Believe it or not, there’s still a few patches of snow around the Port Swiller Manor yard left over from the January 25th storm.) Hopefully that won’t interfere with next week’s task, which is to clean up the rayther large amount of wisteria I have about the place and to deal with a couple of yews out front that need a trim.
*** No, not that Spring Training. Having followed his beloved Nationals reasonably closely over the off-season hoping for some sign that ownership is finally going to start taking the team seriously, Ol’ Robbo has absolutely no reason to believe they are going to do any better this year than last year, so has already resigned himself to the seemingly never-ending “rebuilding” two-step. Heigh-ho.
All Is Proceeding As I Have Foreseen UPDATE: Two, maaaaybe three inches, but it’s that nasty, wet, heavy stuff. Couple of big branches down out back, and yes, Ol’ Robbo was out shoveling at zero-dark-thirty this morning. I, for one, am really looking forward to spring.

Recent Comments