Change of Season

I just spent all day in the yard - most of it breaking things down to store for the winter.  As depressing as it is to pack it all up and see the empty space, I know this change of season is the one thing that forces me to de-clutter the yard and the storage sheds.  Yes, that was plural - I've accumulated so much outdoor stuff, I've had to obtain multiple storage sheds and bins to accommodate everything.

 After dark, I sat on the front porch swing with my best 4-legged friend.  It was peaceful and it really felt good to sit there surrounded by the newly open space. 

I'm someone who is known to spend all day in the yard, always working on something.  I squeeze every  drop of sunlight out of a day.  The days have been getting shorter and soon it will be dark too early to do much out there.  I may tinker around with a few new designs using oddball pavers, but the majority of the landscape work is done for the year.

As much as I hate to wish time away, I am really looking forward to next summer.  This place is going to be awesome next summer!  I'm leaving off at a point where I'm all set for a few great spring projects.  The good thing is, I will have a few months' break from chasing down the abundant weeds and hopefully be able to get ahead of them in the spring.

Maybe the biggest relief of this year's change of season is leaving the outside projects and being able to focus totally on the indoor projects.  Last winter, I spent months confined to mostly my bedroom or the couch as I recovered from knee surgery.  No access to the basement for months - no home improvement projects.

Yes, I'm looking forward to a season of transforming my cluttered home office into a streamlined desk space with a wall of books.  I need this space to be an inspiration for my writing.  Doing the inside work this season will prepare it for the major project next year to open it up with an inspirational view of the back yard.  And a sliding door to that space is going to allow me to step right into my backyard paradise.

Each season has a reason, I suppose.  As hard as it is to stay inside and miss the birds and flowers....it's a season for change....