Maybe I should just stick to Winter, because so far I am already breaking Spring.
After more consistent days of snow on the ground than I’ve seen in years, it finally cracked 70 degrees this week in the Buffalo area.
We’re excited to get outside and start the yard cleanup…and boy, does it need a clean up.
Sunday, Mr. D&D and I picked up a lot of branches that had fallen in the yard and burned them in the fire pit.
There was plenty left to do, so I took one for the team on Monday and spent a couple of hours raking and stacking dozens hundreds thousands of branches from the other side of the yard. (Willow trees are beautiful…and messy!)
I’d stack a few piles on our beloved garden cart. (No, this is NOT an affiliate link, but a pure endorsement. After years of battling wobbly wheelbarrows we purchased one of these lovelies. If you do a lot of yard work, this baby is AWEsome!):
Sorry…let’s continue: I would stack a few piles on the beloved garden cart and haul them across the muck to the other side of the yard where the fire pit is. I dumped a few loads on top of the pit but decided not to burn them so I could get full credit (or takeout dinner) for my day’s labor when Mr. came home.
A dozen or so loads later, I parked the cart next to the mountainous Pile of Honor and decided it was time for a snack break.
But first, I hosed off Kelly’s paws, gave Jack a bath,
destroyed a very determined robin’s 17th attempt at building a nest over my front door,
and killed about 20 minutes on the computer with a tasty soda water at hand.
And when I went back into the kitchen…
I saw it.
Actually…the truth is, I DIDN’T see it.
ANY of it.
No mountainous pile, no evidence of several hours work, no…
NO. AMAZING. YARD. CART!!!
Gone…all gone. WHAT…HOW…WHO?!
THEN, the full realization of what had occurred hit me the like the giant waft of a chemical fire.
On top of the smallest amount of indistinguishably lingering smolder from the prior day’s twig burn-off, I had placed an ENORMOUS pile of kindling. Add one random, aerodynamically perfect gentle breeze and by the time I finished my 45-minute break, all that was left were ashes, a horrific puddle of melted black plastic on the concrete, and a pungent billow of smoke that spread the news of my Brobdingnagian screw up to the surrounding westerly vicinity.
I should have put blogging first and grabbed my camera…instead I hastily ran outside to survey the damage.
As soon as I went out the back door, the odor triggered post traumatic stress from Jack’s encounter with the skunk….the smell was surprisingly similar. (Here’s some party convo: fresh, ground-zero, concentrated skunk smell is not the same as off-in-the-distance skunk smell. You heard it here, first.)
Thoughts of how the neighbors were reacting to the cloud of reek quickly dissipated when I saw up close the puddle that was once my prized yard cart.
I thought of The Steadfast Tin Soldier:
I remembered fondly the work shared with that garden cart, the specific physical therapy exercises I endured to get my knee rehabbed so I could resume pushing it around the yard, and my pride at the piles of yard debris we had built together.
There was no heart to be scraped up from that puddle. The only recognizable elements were the melting remnant of a wheel, almost smiling at me as it said farewell, and the metal axis…pointing back to the fire pit as if to say…”please, finish it.”
I’m still not sure if it was delirium from grief, or the hallucinogenic effect of the lingering fumes, but I grabbed my shovel and cast the smile and axis into the last vestige of flame.
Goodbye old friend.
With naught left but the hardening remains of the plastic corpse, there was one thing left to contemplate:
How in the world was I going to tell Mr. D&D that I RUINED the garden cart AND two large sections of concrete??!!!
Hi, Honey…the good news is that all those pesky branches are gone…
You’re gonna laugh when I tell you…
At least the EPA didn’t show up with a citation and handcuffs….
You know how you regretted NOT staining the concrete?
Today, I learned so much about science…
Oy…
As the puddle began to cool, the thicker parts of the plastic crackled and fairly easily scraped off with the shovel. The rest is a job for another day.
I may skip summer. I’m already ready for next winter.
In a surprising turn of events, Mr. D felt very badly that I felt very badly about my mess. The next day he brought home my favorite chocolate
and made me promise not to light candles in the house.
SaveSave
Oh, Em, I was, I’m afraid, chortling through this post…kind of at your expense. I am so sorry. And wanted to get that out there right away.
What a crazy experience! Thank goodness, all that was lost were a bunch of pesky willow branches and your beloved cart. It could have been much crazier, I’m afraid. I have two of those rickety wheelbarrows you mention. One has a big flat tire 99% of the time but I use it to decorate. The other is good enough, I guess, for our measly yard work but the one you lost looked so substantial. A real woman’s wheelbarrow. Hope maybe you get a replacement for Mother’s Day!
Mr. D&D had such a dear way of handling the whole upset…with chocolate.
Thanks, sweets, for the giggles. And again, I apologize for them!! XO
Hi, Leslie!
Chortling at my expense was exactly what I was hoping for with this post. So thank you for enjoying it… you made my day! Thank you ☺️
OMG!!! You just lost the most fabulous, amazingly tough and super convenient gardening companion ( it’s so very dependable!!!) a gardener could ever want!!! I have the same gardencart…neighbors, the wealthy, the Eco minded, the weekend gardeners sneered at my plastic contraption asking what is that??? I’d explain the difficulty in using a proper wheelbarrow…hah! Proper wheelbarrow indeed. I hate a proper wheelbarrow’s tippiness, it’s weight and ability to veer left on a rock when You’re going right! I tried selling them on this cart, it never worked. I will never part with mine! You, my dear, must find a worthy replacement…once your are allowed out to play in the garden!
My husband experienced a similar catastrophe. He tested the worthiness of our humongous, county issued plastic garbage can by dumping ashes into it. This was several days, like three days after a BBQ event. He wanted a clean grill for cooking our dinner. Shortly after sitting down to a wonderously cooked steak… We were interrupted by sirens, loud firetruck noises…honey, that sounds like it’s just outside the house…and firefighters banging away at our door. Yep, the ‘ashes’ had ignited our can next to the fence. Our neighbor fearing for our lives called the fire department…enough said. BTW, I love! reading your columns and your husband is a keeper.
Okay, first: what a GREAT story! 🤣 Wow…still smoldering after three days?! That’s amazing. It definitely serves as a strong reminder of how careful you have to be. And nice of your neighbors to be concerned about you.
Second: you’re so right about that cart. We’ll never go back to a “proper” wheelbarrow. Best $100 we ever spent! We’ll be grabbing another asap.
And third: Do you blog? Bc you tell a great story. I hope this comment section allows ppl to link blog addresses bc that’s always welcome. In fact, It just dawned on me to check the comment form to make sure it does allow for direct linking.
Thanks for the visit, and for taking the time to comment!
I am truly LOL! This is such a me moment! And I love the reaction of Mr. D&D!! Sounds like something my Mr. would do. Gotta love them!!
Thank you, Tina! So grateful to hear I have a kindred spirit…and that you’re willing to admit it…bless you!
Full disclosure: this wasn’t Mister’s typical response (hence my surprise, haha)… I told him he’s turning into a fine wine….which goes exceedingly well with that chocolate, btw 💏
Thank you so much for commenting!
OMG….that’s really a little scary too! Luckily it wasn’t worse, right??
And it’s not like you were being crazy or forgetful or irresponsible. I bet we would have all done the same thing. Which is exactly why you got chocolate!!
And at least the wheelbarrow is replaceable!!!
Another reason I could say for not having yardwork in the first place…haha (just trying to keep it light and funny…..)
And you can always paint something cool on the concrete with your skills!!!!
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Hi! Jodie 🙂
Well, to be fair, I was not being crazy, but I DO dabble with being irresponsible (hence the emoji).
That’s why I was particularly grateful for Mister’s response.
We agreed it was a really good lesson for both of us..and if you read MamaDeyoung’s story, for everyone.
Thanks, Jodie,