Sun's out! We have some spring cleaning to do!
It's mildly funny that on this beautiful day, a day that portends the season just ahead of us, we dive into a clearing and cleaning by bringing out the machines.
But first -- breakfast.
As I already mentioned - Ed felled a tree yesterday and now comes the task of cutting it into manageable pieces. Branches will be hoisted to the top of the wood pile (which is a mountain, so high that I cannot even see what's on the other side), logs will be stacked. He has his saw to help with the big logs. The work is both dangerous and hard and I typically like to not watch because when I witness a slip or a tumble or an inadvertent crash, I have images of severed limbs and blood mixing with the melted snow.
In the meantime, our robotic vacuum cleaner dusts the house and that means, of course, that I have to dust as well. To my knowledge the little machine does not climb walls or reach tabletops.
I then join Ed outside to do my annual (or perhaps biannual) coax: so long as you have the chain saw, might you cut down this one branch (or two, or a hundred) that's in the way of other growth?
We walk the farmette land and he reluctantly takes down a limb or even an invasive tree that has taken hold in very inappropriate spaces. He is mostly agreeable if I use the right words and convince him that just letting things be is bad for the planet.
(The cheepers hate the sound of the saw. They watch from a distance.)
If the sawing of timber is tough, the hauling of felled limbs and logs is worse. I alternate between thinking : I'm sixty- four, I can't believe I'm hauling heavy logs! Yuk! And, in my finer moments: hey, I'm sixty-four and I'm hauling heavy logs! I'm so relieved that I can still do this!
In the afternoon there is this wonderful confluence of two things: the temperature climbs to 55F (13C) and I have an afternoon with Snowdrop. I suppose the only low point is a call from Apple:
Say, what did you think was wrong with your computer? Because we have no problem starting it up.
Great. I couldn't start it. Ed couldn't start it. Apple clerk on Sunday couldn't start it. Apple clerk on Monday couldn't start it. And now, APple repair person plugs it in and it loads in a snap.
So what now?
Oh, we'll probably erase everything, install new operating system...
Erase everything?
Yes and maybe that will solve the problem.
And if not, then I will have to go through the same thing again. Grrr.
Snowdrop is a welcome distraction.
We go to the park. She tells stories. And runs freely in the warming air. Oh, I know it's still the end of February, but today's taste of things to come is sublime!
At the farmhouse, the stories continue...
And eventually, she wants to go outside again. Who can blame her??
Off she goes with Ed to put away the cheepers. On the return, she is in full story mode.
We go to the front yard. The evening beckons!
I find milkweed puffs, she blows them into the sunset.
A day that begins with machines and ends with milkweed puffs. And the sun was warm and the skies were bluejay blue. Just heavenly!
It's mildly funny that on this beautiful day, a day that portends the season just ahead of us, we dive into a clearing and cleaning by bringing out the machines.
But first -- breakfast.
As I already mentioned - Ed felled a tree yesterday and now comes the task of cutting it into manageable pieces. Branches will be hoisted to the top of the wood pile (which is a mountain, so high that I cannot even see what's on the other side), logs will be stacked. He has his saw to help with the big logs. The work is both dangerous and hard and I typically like to not watch because when I witness a slip or a tumble or an inadvertent crash, I have images of severed limbs and blood mixing with the melted snow.
In the meantime, our robotic vacuum cleaner dusts the house and that means, of course, that I have to dust as well. To my knowledge the little machine does not climb walls or reach tabletops.
I then join Ed outside to do my annual (or perhaps biannual) coax: so long as you have the chain saw, might you cut down this one branch (or two, or a hundred) that's in the way of other growth?
We walk the farmette land and he reluctantly takes down a limb or even an invasive tree that has taken hold in very inappropriate spaces. He is mostly agreeable if I use the right words and convince him that just letting things be is bad for the planet.
(The cheepers hate the sound of the saw. They watch from a distance.)
If the sawing of timber is tough, the hauling of felled limbs and logs is worse. I alternate between thinking : I'm sixty- four, I can't believe I'm hauling heavy logs! Yuk! And, in my finer moments: hey, I'm sixty-four and I'm hauling heavy logs! I'm so relieved that I can still do this!
In the afternoon there is this wonderful confluence of two things: the temperature climbs to 55F (13C) and I have an afternoon with Snowdrop. I suppose the only low point is a call from Apple:
Say, what did you think was wrong with your computer? Because we have no problem starting it up.
Great. I couldn't start it. Ed couldn't start it. Apple clerk on Sunday couldn't start it. Apple clerk on Monday couldn't start it. And now, APple repair person plugs it in and it loads in a snap.
So what now?
Oh, we'll probably erase everything, install new operating system...
Erase everything?
Yes and maybe that will solve the problem.
And if not, then I will have to go through the same thing again. Grrr.
Snowdrop is a welcome distraction.
We go to the park. She tells stories. And runs freely in the warming air. Oh, I know it's still the end of February, but today's taste of things to come is sublime!
At the farmhouse, the stories continue...
And eventually, she wants to go outside again. Who can blame her??
Off she goes with Ed to put away the cheepers. On the return, she is in full story mode.
We go to the front yard. The evening beckons!
I find milkweed puffs, she blows them into the sunset.
A day that begins with machines and ends with milkweed puffs. And the sun was warm and the skies were bluejay blue. Just heavenly!
I wondered if your robotic vacuum cleaner would meet your high cleanliness standards.
ReplyDeleteYes, in that it cleans the house more often than we would if left to our own sweat and tears. In my mind, there are three levels of vacuuming: There is me, at my most energetic moment, then Ed (who always vacuums in the same way), then me who is in a rush. I'd say the robotic cleaner comes in between the first two.
DeleteBut it's not a complete reprieve. The robot cannot do Snowdrop's play area. Too many small things to swallow up. Nor can it do stairs. But the other spaces -- it's great. We always empty out a trayful of dust and debris!