Living up to its name...

10 September 2026: Stopped when I got home from work today to admire the butterfly bush doing its thing. Perfect little moment. 

Sunshine just in time...

23 June 2026: Taking it as a good sign that the rain stopped and the sun came out in just enough time that I could mow the lawn this afternoon. Had to get it done today or it would have had to wait until Sunday or Monday...and even those days might not have worked. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a crisis, but I do get fixated on stuff. Having one less thing to fixate on? I'll take it. 

So yeah: that sunshine was quite welcome.  

Good luck, little one!

9 June 2026: This little baby was on my back patio when I started mowing the lawn today. Watched me just about every time I passed her. 

Worried, worried, worried that she was sick or injured or abandoned the whole time.

Put the mower away, swept the driveway and sidewalks, and then checked again. She was gone. 

Watering watcher...

8 June 2026: Caught someone watching me water the flowers this morning. 

First big spring storm...

13 May 2026: The first big thunderstorm of the spring is rolling through as I write this. Unlike Jo, who is looking disturbed and about to hide under some furniture, I am grateful for it (assuming it doesn't get too severe). We need the rain and only a few hours ago, I finished planting all of my flowers. 

As I planted the flowers in the bed by the front porch, I thought about how beautiful they were last year and marveled at how small they start. Now it's cool to sit here and think about the work that the rain will do to help them get there.

(Reminds me of the kind of moments I describe in this post: standing in the yard shoveling snow and trying to imagine summer and then standing there in the summer and trying to imagine winter...)

Spring yard work...

12 May 2026: Just finished the lawn and am taking a little break before trivia. 

It's been a busy day, but kind of casually busy, if that makes any sense; no real stress or rushing. Or rather, when I felt like I needed to be rushing and thus stressed, I realized I didn't need to be doing either.

Voted this morning. Planted a little redbud tree sapling tree a neighbor was giving away. Went to the dentist. Went to Walmart to get (more) mulch and some odds and ends. Wandered through Sunny Meadows on my annual annual-buying trip. Came home and kept working on the spring clean-up and prep work I started yesterday. Listened to a New Yorker Fiction Podcast story while I did the latter--a kind of tradition. (Yard work--fall or spring clean-ups--and Christmas light hanging/taking down=New Yorker Fiction Podcast episodes. A little tradition that I quite enjoy as it makes the tedious work more pleasant.) Then mowed the lawn. 

Tomorrow I'll see about getting the flowers in the ground and porch pots. Need to spread the weed and feed, too. I've got a couple of work obligations, but will do my best to stay unstressed/unrushed. 

It's almost like these little yard rituals--a yearly necessity--need to be done before I can settle into whatever summer break rhythm will emerge. 

Jo and the Redbud...

12 April 2026: Got home from PA, opened the windows, and found Jo framed by the redbud tree, a little tradition we're developing.

First mow...

7 April 2026: Once again feeling overwhelmed by...everything. Even good news (being invited to the next stage of a grant competition) makes me want to cry a bit, wondering when I'll get that done.

I snuck home this afternoon after conferences with my ENGL 102 students so that I could take care of the first mow of the season. A sure-fire sign of April and its frantic rush is just this situation: "if I don't mow it during this narrow window of free time, everything will be terrible..." 

On my way to the car, a colleague stopped me to say hello. "One thing I can tell you," he said, "when you are done, you'll see it." He's so right. It helps to make little bits of progress, however fleeting.

Stopped and snapped a couple of pictures as I worked, particularly of my beloved redbud tree, doing its thing and leaving me in awe all over again. (Consciously kept the mower in the shot! Ha!)

I texted Hannah later and said, "I stood and looked at the freshly-cut lawn with all the satisfaction of a suburban dad, as per usual." 

Spent the rest of the day working from home and making pretty good progress: did some course prep, finished gradig a stack of essays, sent about 100 emails. Hanging in there.  

Last blooms...

16 October 2025: The zinnias are pretty much done for the year, especially the big ones by the mailbox. I pulled them out this morning, which is always a bit sad. I clipped the last blooms that hadn't started fading, a last gift of summer brought in just before the frost that's expected tonight.

Hiding...

28 August 2025: Someone ran out the front door today and then tried to hide. Or perhaps she just appreciates the new views, too.

Late August blooms...

27 August 2025: It's been dry here again and I am having to water the front bushes, which are still young and vulnerable. When I got home this evening and started watering, I found myself so pleased again with how well this flower bed has turned out. The annuals are thriving. They started out as tiny plants in cell packs and look at them now! The bushes are doing well, too. I am obsessed with the butterfly bushes. I can't say enough about how much this long-delayed landscaping change pleases me.

A summer stunner...

19 July 2025: The zinnias that I planted this year--especially around the mailbox--are doing really well. The bloom below isn't perfect, but it is huge and really pleases me, imperfections and all. Grateful for this kind of beauty.

Heat wave...

24 June 2025: A heat wave settled in today (actually yesterday, but today was fiercer!). Should last until Thursday. Yuck. Got out early and mowed the lawn and did a bit of yard work. I've been more or less inside all day since then except for a brief trip to Walgreen's. 

Reading for the Year's Work essay, taking notes, watching TV, getting the rest of my steps in doing laps around the first floor...there are a lot worse ways to get through a heat wave. 

Grateful for AC that works, a job that lets me stay inside when it's hot, and two cats who aren't that upset about the shut-up windows and are glad to have me here with them.

Long, good day

17 June 2025: 

Things I did today: slept in a tiny bit because I slept awful the night before, mowed the lawn, had lunch with Tim and two recent graduates, helped do a bit of advising for the last group of entering first-year students, did some planning for next semester with Tim (we are taking our students to the Poe House), did some research work, hosted trivia, played with BabyCat and the laser pointer (a promise I made to her yesterday), and listened to a heck of a thunderstorm roll through (with Jo hiding under my chair). 

Not the most exciting post, but I kind of like days like this. 

Yardwork day...

12 May 2025: I had planned to do some work in the yard today--a trip to Home Depot for some plants that I would then plant/pot when I got home. Then tomorrow, I thought I'd go to the really good nursery in Maryland for the rest of my plants and put them in the ground in the next couple of days. But the weather was so nice today and Home Depot's selections were not great. Plus, I realized that it's supposed to start raining this evening and there's rain in the forecast for until Thursday...so I also wanted to mow the lawn today. By about 9:30 a.m., I was ready to go "all in" on a yardwork day. 

Cleaned out the flower beds and then mowed the lawn (mowing over all the weeds I had pulled). Drove to the other nursery and got the good stuff. Put it all in the ground or in pots on the porch and deck. Feeling tired, but accomplished.

The SSAWW essay work I had planned for today (most of it, anyway) can wait until tomorrow--a better rainy day activity than mowing or planting! 

"And Zero at the Bone"

7 May 2025: Every time I come across these neighbors--every time, no matter the size--Dickinson's last line comes to mind.

Front yard refresher...

26 April 2025: This afternoon, Billy, a landscaper I met through a student's kids' homegrown little newspaper (one of my favorite things I've read this semester!) finished up a project he started a couple of weeks ago. First, he dug out the very overgrown bushes that were basically hiding the front of the house. Then he put down some mulch. That alone was a huge glow-up for the yard. People were literally saying "wow" as they walked by. We waited a couple of weeks to minimize free risks and today, Billy put the new shrubs in. Gotta keep everything well-watered and hope the rocky ground doesn't make too much trouble, but I am so happy about how it looks.

Redbud 2025

4 April 2025:

[Catch-up post]

The best tree in my yard hit its stride on Saturday. Just breath-taking.

Room with a view...

3 April 2025: Can't argue with the view out of the home office window this time of year.

Fall clean-up...

25 November 2024: Knocked out one of my least-favorite chores today: the fall yard clean-up. I had planned on doing only some of it, but ended up doing it all. I did somehow run over just the right (wrong) rock while mowing over some leaves and wrecked the mower blade. But that's a problem for Springtime Heidi. 

Also knocked out the ENGL 307 Response Papers (except for the one that came in a bit late). Steady progress on grading--and more quickly than I planned.