We
have tire tracks along the side of our driveway.
Ok…
a few realities: (1) The tracks are there because either Terry
or I (or both of us) ended up off the true edge of the driveway.
(2) It happens every year, actually a handful or more times every
year, when we get a combination of rainy weather and softer muddy
ground and don’t back in to the driveway quite as straight as
we think we are. (3) It’s not all that big a deal.
Still…
there they are… tire tracks. And… there I am… outside with a bow
rake in hand, attempting to soften the edges so that trenches
move a bit closer to resembling uneven waves and further from
obvious trenches.
I’m
not sure I’m actually all that successful with my efforts. One
year I used a car to just drive back and forth to smooth things
out a bit. Plus, once everything settles… another storm, a bit
more frost, a bit more rain, cooler and warmer and cooler and
warmer and rainy and dry and steadily improving into spring… eventually
the edges of the driveway will smooth and level and I doubt any
of my efforts will have changed a thing in either direction, pro
or con.
What
has changed is that I am aware of outside again. Things kind of
shut down out in our yard for the winter. Yes, I work in the driveway
when I need to on snow removal and more. Sure, I pay attention
to the bird feeders. But it’s not like the summer, with a lawn
to mow and flowers to water. The tire tracks though… yeah… that’s
a sign.
We
began the calendar year around here with single-digit high temperatures
for about three weeks straight. The ground was solid. I could
have driven out onto the lawn, floored the accelerator, spun the
steering wheel, and been more likely to slide along like a curling
stone than to leave any marks of significance.
Not
now though.
Tire
tracks. Right there next to the driveway.
Do
you have projects that come about at different points of the year?
How
about air conditioning? Maybe you put a couple of air conditioners
into the windows in May or June. Maybe you have a central air,
and that box outside—the compressor… or condenser… or fan… or
whatever your particular make and model and manufacturer call
the dang thing—needs to be covered for the winter. (Or perhaps
you don’t cover it. And maybe you flip the circuit breaker for
it to shut things down.)
When
do you pay attention to your heating needs?
Usually
I don’t pay too much attention to the oil tank in our house for
three of the seasons. I sort of nod in the general direction of
the tank in October or November, just in case we actually need
a delivery of oil to top things off as we start the colder months.
But the reality is, other than a casual glance now and again,
it’s mid to late December before I really become aware of the
gauge on top. And that awareness drifts off as concerns of having
enough to get to warmer days are eased… you know, roughly around
the time we start seeing tire tracks along the side of the driveway.
(More precisely, usually in the opening weeks of March.)
I
like to know we have it to start the season when the heat goes
on. I like to check to make sure we won’t have an emergency where
we are both low on oil and have snow in the forecast that would
make a delivery difficult.
Funny
thing is, I doubt if much of my home owner concerns are all that
different from yours. A bit of circumstances, a touch of surroundings,
and a shift in the specifics. You don’t get snow where you live…
one of us has a shed and the other a larger garage… a few details
differ. But most of it is quite likely the same.
There
are certain dates on the calendar… moments when we either see
our shadows or don’t (figuratively speaking)… where our thoughts
and efforts suddenly spin off into a checklist of demands. Gutter
cleaning, garden planting, firewood stacking, lawn mowing, seasonal
realities.
Right
now, it just so happens that spring is approaching. We all move
our snow blowers and make the lawn mowers more accessible. The
furniture for the decks get uncovered. It’s not all that different
from deciding when to paint, checking the oil tank, or figuring
out where you put the tarps after finishing with the leaves last
year (since they’re eventually going to start falling again).
I’ve
been watching the forecast. Garage needs to be cleaned out. A
variety of reasons behind it… but I have buckets of water and
cardboard boxes and a few other items that are ready to be sorted
and moved. I want to open the garage door to do it. Maybe put
a thing or two outside when I do, just to create some room to
work. But I’m convinced at least one final storm is in our future
around here, and I don’t feel like attacking the project on a
windy and rainy and brutally cold day.
But
the changes are coming. I can see that. I don’t believe we’ll
need another oil run to make it into the summer. I’m wondering
if the rototiller will start, so that I can clear out a garden
for this year. For now though…
I
just need that bow rake. Tire tracks to tend to.