Saturday, April 24, 2010

Oh, my aching back


It seems all I've offered so far this year is a bunch of excuses for not getting much accomplished. So here's another one: I've been severely down in the back since March 28.

After several sessions with my primary care doctor and then a spine specialist, it appears I had a severe lumbar strain. The way my back was hurting, I thought sure I would need an operation, but all I'm facing is new some stretching exercises.

As a testament to how far behind I am, I share the photo of 15 truck loads of wood-chips that have been sitting by our driveway for a month. I plan to use them for garden paths and trails through the woods. The wood-chips were free of charge from a tree-trimming crew in the area. They were happy not to have to haul the chips a long way.

A word of caution about green wood-chips: Never use them as mulch or compost. It takes many years for the chips to decompose.

There's much to be done around Deerfield, but I'll take one more week off before I start back-breaking tasks. Wish me good luck.