Tuesday, July 14, 2009

On Working Around the House

I believe it was Spiderman's uncle Ben that said "With one's own yard comes great responsibility." It was when he was fleeing from the bandito that shot J.R. or something. Again, I'm not sure, but I think this is close to accurate.

Now that I own my own house I have a yard to maintain. This task has been slightly challenging, as the yard is all sod. And, having never experienced the joys of sod, I let some of it die within my first week or two at Stewartland, as I was implicitly told that I didn't need to worry about watering it and that it was already mature enough. Once I saw the brown, dead or dying spots in my yard I went to Wal*Mart and bought me a sprinkler. Now I water my yard either mornings or evenings, environmentally conscious of my materialistic need to have a green yard. (How ironic that I use the adjective green there.)

I mowed yesterday. I was going to get an electric mower, but I didn't, as they were much more expensive than their gas-powered kin. But I did buy me an electric weed-eater. It's pretty nifty and quiet, plus I have a million foot long extension cord so I never run into the problem of not enough wire. I also put together and hung up a swing for our back porch. I screwed in some hooks to hang plants on, but we currently don't own any plants that hang.

All in all I like being out in the yard on a summer night. The sun doesn't burn out until almost 9 o'clock, and it's nice being outside. The neighborhood has kids playing everywhere. Folks are walking their dogs. Me and Keisha take Stella for a walk around the trails that go around our neighborhood quite often. It's always pleasant being out, and now that we have a swing it'll be even nicer.

I'm really enjoying being a homeowner. I take pride in taking care of my place, inside and out. Sure, we're still in the unpacking phase, but we're getting there. Stewartland is looking more and more complete, though I'm not sure if it will ever reach the "completely satisfied" point. There always seems to be something else lurking on the horizon.

5 comments:

marky said...

Your neighbourhood sounds amazing. I'd love to have a back yard. If I had one though, I think I'd spend more time there, and less time fishing.

I think my only option would be to buy a place with a loch. But, that's just a distant dream at the moment.

A swing you say! I didn't know you were a swinger. ;-)

logankstewart said...

Aye, I enjoy having a yard, even if the lot size is only like 0.14 acres (0.06 hectares or 567 sq.meters) or something. Large enough to take about an hour and a half to mow and stuff.

You're a fisherman, Marky? My in-laws have a large pond on their land, filled with blue gills, bass, catfish, turtles, and all other manner of wild and crazy beasts. My brother caught a pretty big bass out of that pond.

A swinger...ha! I am now.

marky said...

I'd love to fish for Bass. I hear they fight hard.

An hour and a half to mow. You should put a roller coaster in instead of a swing!

Krista said...

There's nothing better than sitting out in the sun with a good book whether at the park, on a swing, or by the pool, in my humble opinion!

I'm so glad I have a husband to mow the lawn for me, though! I'm sure your wife feels the same, eh? By the way, you have such a cute little puppy!

logankstewart said...

@Marky: I looked into the Roller Coaster idea, but the Home Owners Association strictly prohibits "roller coasters and giant mutated toads." Complete bummer.

@Krista: Right on. Few things are as wonderful as sitting outside with a good book. When I was a wee lad I liked to climb trees, nestle up in a nook and read for hours, or until I grew numb from sitting up in a tree...