Slip Sliding Away

Well, I recovered from the bug Donna and I had a couple of weeks or so ago, but now something new has come up. I woke up last Monday with a snag in my back. I've always had back problems, and I seem to get a little hitch in my get-along about once a year. Tuesday I was really struggling to move around, but I began loosening up on Wednesday. Still, I was unable to go to the gym at all this past week, and that bothers me. I can't seem to get my routine going here, and with exercise, routine is very important. Sassy Miss Donna keeps bouncing along, though, so at least one of us is doing well.

We were surprised to see the mowers on Tuesday. I don't recall them starting their mowing routine this early in previous years. But we did need some mowing done. The weeds were getting pretty tall. When the mowers show up, you know spring isn't far away. These guys usually take 2 days to mow and trim in our neighborhood. We have just over 300 housing units, so it is a fairly large place, and we have lots of open areas. I don't know how many people work in the crew, but it is close to half a dozen. I'd just as soon mow my own yard, but it was nice to have someone else do it this week since I was down in my back.

The cold moved in Sunday night. The low that night reached about 20, and the high on Monday was 32. That set a new record for lowest maximum temperature on that date. Monday night, the temp fell to 17, setting a new low, but we broke freezing on Tuesday. By Wednesday, the temp was back in the mid 50s, and we continued to warm every day after that. Our average maximum temp for this time of year is right at 70. From Thursday through Saturday, we had daily highs in the 70s, and we did quite a bit of sitting out on our back patio. It was so nice to be outside again. We have a front moving through now (Sunday morning), and the temps will dip some, but not that much.

Our big need right now is for rain. We've only had about half an inch of rain since the start of the year, and that is below our average. Even though our lakes are in the best shape since we moved here 8 years ago, drought is always a big concern out here. As summer comes on and temps soar into the low 100s and the hot, dry winds blow through, it doesn't take long to dry things out. We had a very short sprinkle about sunrise this morning, and we have a chance of more rain through Tuesday. Let's hope we get some.

Courtney and her gang of ruffians are coming down this week. It is spring break for grandson Xander's school, so we'll get a chance to visit with the little rug rats for a bit. For us, spring break is a time to stay close to home while families go on vacation. I'll spend spring break doing taxes and getting the car inspected. I'll have my fun after kids return to the classroom.