Spring is here! Getting away from the gym!

Finally, after what seemed like an incredibly long winter, Spring is here!  Winter normally doesn't bother me, but this one did.  It didn't seem like we had as many "nice" days mixed in.  You know, those 60 degree bonus days that happen in January and February that give us a dose of sun and the hope that winter is near an end!

Now that the weather is nice, I'm determined to try and get my exercise from places other than the home gym.  I've been doing well, exercising at least 3x a week, but it does get dull.  My main focus will be yard work.  Now I don't much care for yard work.  Honestly, if my wife would let me, I'd put in astroturf.   But there's no denying that it is a good activity to burn calories.  I'm not talking about just mowing the yard and pulling some weeds.  I'm taking on some big projects.

Part of our back yard is fenced in for the dogs, it is level and is really the only part of the back that I maintain.  The dogs are the only ones that use it, so I just cut the grass and leave it alone.  We have a bit of property that runs beyond the fence though and that is what I'm tackling first.  Immediately beyond the fence is a strip of level yard about 6 feet wide filled with weeds and scrub.  I'm going to clear all the weeds, little trees and vines out, lay down landscape fabric and mulch it.  There are a couple black berry bushes back there and those are the only things I want growing there.

At the end of this strip of yard is a steep hillside, more rock, weeds and scrub.  I'm going to clear this out and also lay down fabric and stones or mulch.  This part is too steep to easily maintain and is full of wild grape vines, so anything that does grow gets choked by the vines.  I'll also have to cut some steps into the hillside.

Below the hill is the rest of the yard, which is also down hill and is slowly being taken over by the wilderness.   I don't know what I'm going to do with this part because there's no easy way to get the lawnmower to it and it is too big to cut with a weed trimmer.  I'd like to plant some fruit trees in this area, but who knows.  It won't get done this year, so I have some time to think about it.

In order to get the most out of this work, I'm going to go old school on most of it and not use power tools.  Instead, I'll be swinging an axe and pick.  I've already started and let me tell you, using an axe is a hell of a workout!  Maybe instead of doing it myself, I'll start an outdoor fitness program, only $20 a month and you can come and do the lumberjack class as much as you want!

Now I do have a couple trees down that are pretty thick, so I will probably use the chainsaw on these.  That means I'll have wood to burn, so I better put a fire-pit in the fenced portion of the yard.  The dogs will just have to share.