It’s been more than four years since I had a lawn in my front yard, but that should be remedied within the next week. I had the sewer line replaced in 2004, which destroyed the yard and the sprinkler system. Since then all I’ve done is try to cut the weeds a couple of times a year. I’m not a big fan of hard physical labor (as evidenced by the four freakin’ years it’s taken me to get to this point), but today I spent about five hours tilling, digging, and leveling the dirt in the yard. The hardest part is yet to come. Last year I bought all the pipes and fittings that I need to fix the sprinkler system, but plumbing and I just don’t get along and I’ve been dreading this part for a long time. After I get the sprinklers fixed and tested (hopefully tomorrow), I’ll be raking in some fertilizer and mulch and laying down sod. I’m sure my neighbors, especially old man Arno from across the street, will be happy to see it done.
I was hoping to get this job finished before Friday, but with Bradley’s birthday party on Thursday, I don’t think I’ll have time to get it all done. I had hoped to go for a drive up in the mountains on Saturday, but I probably won’t have time to plan it out and get everything ready. It’s just too hot to spend a day in the desert unless you plan on being inside the car/truck the entire time, so the mountains have sounded quite appealing to me the past couple of weeks. I want to drive up to Ferron Reservoir, then over the crest of the Wasatch Plateau and down into the Twelvemile area. I read in the DWR’s fishing report that Ferron Reservoir is open, but Skyline Drive over the top of the mountains is another 1,100′ higher in elevation, topping out at around 10,600′, and there may still be snow drifts blocking the road. Utah’s oldest unfound geocache is about 11 miles beyond Ferron Reservoir, and though it’s probably accessible right now from the west, it would be much more fun and worthwhile to access it from the east side of the mountains. If I don’t make it there this weekend (which is looking very unlikely), I’ll shoot for next weekend.