Yard Work Weekend

So I started off by mowing the lawn on Friday evening so that I could enjoy the weekend and not have to worry about the lawn.  I had other yard work in mind to do as well.  My neighbor refers to me as the lawn bandit because of how I dress to mow the lawn.  The smell of fresh cut grass really bothers me and makes me wheezy and my eyes scratchy feeling.  The other weekend when it was cold I wore a sweatshirt, but the glasses, hat and bandana over a mask are must have items for me to function... as well as a shower immediately after with the clothes in the washer.

 Friday night we had a little fire on our patio.  It was our first fire of the year and a perfect evening for it.  Cinder Ella even sat in the door and watched us as we cooked marshmallows.

Saturday morning I got up and went for a run before tackling my project for the weekend... making a mini patio for our fire pit since it is rusting a little and I don't want it "staining" our nice patio.  Luke and I decided to place it near the small step area we have so that we can sit on the patio and have our fire and if we have other people over we can semi-circle in the lawn with our chairs.

 I dug up all the grass for where the patio stones would need to go.  Cinder Ella sat in the slider and watched me during most of this, while meowing and begging to come outside.  I take a break from the work and take her for a walk, where she eats a bunch of grass.  I call it a day.  On Sunday I finish my fire pit patio project.  I have to dig up some areas a little more and fill in dirt in other spots to level it as best I can.  I realize that I will likely have to pull it up in  a few spots as it settles some and re-level it by the end of summer so that it is "set" for the rest of time (hopefully).  Getting the patio stones from over near the hose I am startled for a second by this:

 Yup, that is a big, fat toad wedged in between two stones and there was one on top of him.  He is alive and I get him to hop out so that I can move him to somewhere else.

 Here is my finished project.  If that wasn't enough outside time I also sprayed the "kill everything" weed killer stuff along the edges of our gardens to that I don't have to pull up the stray strands of grass throughout the summer.  I also spray around our generator so that the weeds don't start growing there.

Yup, that is Cinder's in the slider watching me again.  She just has to be as close to me as possible at all times if she can.  I am currently battling the dandelions that have decided to crop up in the yard by digging them up (on my 3rd bag removed this season).  Any ideas on how to get rid of them welcome.