I am so tired that I can barely type this in, and my head down to my toes are aching. But it's the "good kind" of tired, the kind where I've only sat for 35-40 minutes in a 6.5hr time slot, where I stood bent over, squatted, kneeled or walked with a wheelbarrow the rest of the time.
I had the privilege of getting to clean out/de-winter some portions of the (amazingly beautiful) viewing gardens, which entailed pruning, raking out, and wheelbarrowing/dumping the leaf litter up a single-file ramp up to a pickup bed.
The only thing I heard was the breeze, my pruners and rake, and birds. I felt the sun (it was strong today) and my sore muscles. I also felt a headache, I think because I was dehydrated...(even though I drank half a gallon of water, plus a gatorade).
My first assignment was to cut back and clean up a large section of a groundcover called Allegheny Spurge. I got a demo on how the foliage needed to be pruned off, being careful not to cut off any buds that were on the stems underneath the old foliage. I also had to go tidy up another area that had received a first go-around at clean-up.
I had a 2Way Radio type thing clipped onto the back of my pants(which pulled them down most of the day...I now know which pants not to wear), and radioed my boss to tell her I had finished those areas, and she came and showed me a large area that I could tackle next.
I got to clean up/prune/rake out/wheelbarrow several other garden beds...I could not remember all of the plants that were there, but I can remember: lamb's ear, several bigroot geraniums varieties, ground phloxes, bearberry, irises, Happy Returns daylily, lady's mantle, several varieties of yarrow, and also some rose bushes and a couple of spruce trees, among others.
Between walking to my van, porta potty, tool shed/break area, and my work areas, I probably walked 1-2miles today(Now that I'm learning my way around and making mental notes on what to bring vs what to leave in the van, etc., that should cut down the walking amount). With me all day was my radio, water bottle(that I'd refill from my van), wheelbarrow, a bucket, pruners, 2 regular rakes and one smalll rake. At the beginning I also had 2 thin coats that I eventually put in the van.
I wore a tee shirt, old, black yoga pants, socks and my old sneakers. By the looks of my feet, you'd think I'd been barefoot! They are a filthy wreck! Haha!
By the way, I had as much dirt on my face and in my ears, today. I was sporting a sweet, black, dirt moustache, when I walked in the door.
Back at it again tomorrow morning! :)
(Names I want to remember:
Nettie-boss
Kimberly-boss
Todd-boss
George-grounds
Jamie-w Carl, wants to do medicinal herbs as a business one day
Sam
Megan- met as I was leaving)
