Is it dead yet?!?

Say what?  That's the question that I kept asking myself today as I aerated my front lawn.  No, I didn't rent a fancy machine to do the dirty job.  I did it in the most manual of ways--by walking around and stabbing the ground with a pitchfork!    Right now, I'd rather save the money for other things...like a lift kit...or a digital camera...or gas...or bills, or...uggh.   

For those of you who need some good physical exercise, may I recommend this activity?  Four hours of extreme cardio blended with step aerobics.  Just be sure to wear work boots, because your indoor sneakers won't be able to take it!   What can I say?  It was a gorgeous day here and I wanted to take advantage of it.  My yard looks like crap with bare spots all over it, and I wanted to break up the hard clay before I reseed. 

The robins appreciated my hard work, as they followed me from a safe distance and pulled out their earthworm dinners.  Occasionally, I'd tear up some thatch and expose grubs, which I'd pluck out for the birds to find.  

Later, when I went for a drive, I actually saw a red hawk standing in a neighbor's yard with a dead squirrel under one foot.  I don't think I've ever seen that before, except on TV!  I didn't stick around long enough to see whether or not he flew away with it.  I've seen them fly over my place with fish in their talons before...and occasionally I find fish IN MY YARD!  The first time that it happened, I was about ready to call the media and alert them to the sign from God in my grass until I figured out what had occurred! 

It's going to be 70F tomorrow.  I think I'll sit on the porch and draw pictures.  I haven't done that lately.  Sometimes it's good to just kick back and do something totally self-indulgent and relaxing.  You have my permission to do the same!