(Sunday Paper, Year V, Issue 41)

Wednesday was weird.

I knew it was going to rain at some point, but I thought it would be later in the afternoon…and then when we tried to take the dog for a quick walk before that time, Kathy and I got caught in a shower.

It stopped raining shortly after that, and then when I was about to take the dog out to play it showered again.

I couldn’t get the timing right.

When I heard a big storm was going to pass through I took the dog out so she wouldn’t decide to go out in the middle of a storm…

And then things got crazy.

I don’t know who else had this storm - there was rain, but more impressive than the rain was the wind.

We could tell the winds were heavy…but it didn’t last long, and the rest of the evening unfolded in calm weather.

Then, when I took the dog out for her before-bed pee, I noticed different shadows in the darkness.

I looked around and there were huge tree limbs all over the backyard.

So, all of this is to tell you I had to change my plans for this three-day weekend.

I had originally planned on lounging around the whole time and doing nothing.

But Mother Nature forced my hand a bit to clear the yard and break out the rake for the first time this autumn. (In addition to breaking out a saw and clippers and any other tools I needed to cut up some of those gigantic branches you can see in the picture above.)

It was overwhelming to think about at first. I tried to move the branch and it wouldn’t budge, so that didn’t help. (Though it made me appreciate the fact that the dog and I weren’t outside when it fell.)

But, on Thursday, after I cleared all the loose stuff that was easily movable, I started to come up with a plan. And I couldn’t wait to get out there again on Friday to start attacking the giant limb.

It took a few backyard sessions to get everything together that I can easily get rid of (thanks, Framingham composting center!) but, like most backyard cleaning activities, once I figured out a way forward and it was clear I knew what I was doing, I rather enjoyed the work.

I like attainable goals where visible progress can be made and observed. It was a good feeling dropping bags of debris and sticks off on Saturday, and I expect the same feeling this morning after this posts.

As for clearing the limb that’s more like a small tree trunk?

It might be time to add to my tool repertoire with a more powerful saw.

Notes

*Composting (different from the city composting center I mentioned above) is going great. This week is exciting because I’m trying one of the bigger bags instead of two of the smaller ones. It’s dicey, though, because the garbage pail we’re using is small - suited for the smaller bags. (And you thought it wasn’t going to be an exciting week!) Anyway, if you’re in Framingham and need the info for the composting company, get in touch. My only regret is we didn’t start doing this sooner.

*Running is going great too. I’m keeping up with my 5ks. This week (perhaps I’m doing it as you read this!) I need to do a trail run, so I’m kind of excited to see what route I come up with.

*What am I talking about with the 5Ks? Well, I wrote about it in last week’s #EveryWeekOnWednesday post on the Facebook page. If you missed it, I’m doing a virtual 5K every week for 10 weeks in the fall. This is Week 4. And if you don’t want to be out of the loop on future #EveryWeekOnWednesday posts, go Like the Facebook page! (You can also follow me on Twitter.)

*There are people who are near and dear to me who root for the Yankees and I love those people, but I am happy to see the Rays advance to the ALCS. (If you’ve been reading for the past few weeks you know Tampa is my adopted team for the post-season.) I like watching the Rays…but even more, a Yankees-Astros ALCS would have been obnoxious.