ROTOTILLER, that's the name, that will take your troubles, down the drain!

[logisticslad]

My good friends D&E came by yesterday morning in order to work on my disaster of a back yard. We rented a rototiller and they used it to completely turn over the dirt. Then they smoothed it out with some new topsoil and fertilizer and we seeded with new grass. It is my fond hope that I will soon have a flat yard of grass, rather than a bumpy yard of weeds (that was too hilly to mow). Plus, the neighbors confirmed that they are going to have the huge overhanging pine tree removed soon, and that will make a huge difference to the health of the yard. So a few minutes after we went in, a flock of birds swooped down and started pecking. They left after half an hour and didn't return. We couldn't tell whether they were after the grass seed or all of the bugs that had been turned up by the tilling. Does anyone know whether birds eat grass seed? E. thought that if that was what they were after, then the fertizer would make them sick. Although, when I looked outside this morning, I saw some more.

Comments

[hhw]

will you and your friends come over and do my yard? You won't have to bother with the grass seed, because I do not want a lawn; We'll toss some wildflower seeds and put out some native plants. and make some bark-mulch-paths here and there. Oh, if only it were as easy as typing it up! I think I need to hire a freelance project manager to make me do things like this. I know I'm perfectly capable of the work, but I'm an utter failure at starting and finishing such tasks.

[logisticslad.livejournal.com]

I completely understand the frustration! What I didn't say was that I had spent almost a year dithering about getting this done. Things that I have found helpful in motivating me to do house stuff include: learning lots of details about the ins and outs of the project beforehand, breaking it down into daily accomplishable goals, getting friends to help (even if all they do is keep me company while I do stuff), making the doing of it fun, and rewarding myself afterwards. Come to think of it, this is very similar to how I handle projects at work! It's just much harder to do it for myself at home (but oddly enough, it's easier if I have a specific goal in mind - like wanting to invite friends over to sit outside in the yard while I BBQ). Best of luck with your house projects!