Outdoor compromise. . .

A free picture slideshow by Smilebox

Bummer!  Here it is a most gorgeous summer-like day and I have had to stay inside for most of it.  Well, maybe I shouldn't say I 'had' to stay in.  My banishment from the yard was self imposed since I can't seem to muster up enough willpower to stop doing yardwork!  I overdid it yesterday many times over and last night I had an attention getting wake-up call. 

 

I spent most of the day on the ground, scooching along all the areas in the yard that have borders, scritching and scratching and pulling the fine weeds - the kind you need just your thumb and forefinger for.  At the time, it felt wonderfully relaxing to mingle with the sights and smells of a hot sunny day here in the woods.  I was so immersed in the profound "meaning-of-life" thoughts flowing steadily though my head that I never considered the hours that were passing.  All I knew was that I was having what is, for me, a near perfect sort of day; the kind when Bob and I would say, "It doesn't get much better than this!"  (I have stopped using that expression since it no longer feels like it fits.)  But I have recently had some magnificent days and yesterday was one of them.

 

That is...until later the same night.

 

The aches and pains of manual labor are painfully (pardon the pun) quite familiar to me.  My philosophy when it comes to hands-on outdoor work has always been "where there's a will, there's a way" regardless of the task at hand.  However, I am reluctantly coming to grips with accepting the fact that that kind of stamina diminishes as the years progress.  The first clue came after a soothing bubble bath that I assumed would offset any discomfort or stiffness I might be in store for.  I couldn't move.  "This is peculiar," I thought as I pondered how I was going to get out of the tub.     After while I came up with a plan that worked.  It involved lifting my right leg with both hands to try to avoid the pain that started in my knee and shot down to the bottom of my foot.  Massaging seemed to make it worse.  The throbbing lasted well into the night and at one point I dearly wanted to take some pain medication. . . . . .but I couldn't get out of bed.  So I decided to use the well known remedy for any type of problem:  Ignore it and hope it's gone in the morning.  Thankfully and for the most part, it was.

 

Today I have been giving my knee a break (ha!...another pun) and using it very gingerly since I still feel it retaliating a bit.  Hence, an indoor day.  I tried going outside just for relaxation and to enjoy the enticeing elements but I couldn't resist a little weeding here, a pruning there, a hole that needed filling, some old paint I wanted to scrape......

 

So...to satisfy my longing

to be outside, I grabbed my camera instead of my tools and strolled around the yard snapping random pictures instead of weeding and snipping.  The compromise felt good this afternoon and with this personal little slideshow, I can take that stroll anytime I feel like it.  Even in January!