Spring To-Do List

All winter I anxiously count down the days until spring, but those first few weeks of spring are always a little rough.

First of all, living where I do, we never know if a snowstorm is looming (it has snowed at the end of May here!).  Just recently I was traveling for work and the drive was so beautiful – it actually got up to 19 degrees Celsius, so when I checked into my motel I left my parka in the truck.  I didn’t open the curtains in the morning and when I reached the lobby, I almost had a heart attack thanks to the raging snowstorm that greeted me.  Everyone in the lobby was bundled up because it had dropped to 5 below but I held my head high, shoulders back, and calmly walked to the truck like I was just too darn tough for a parka.  I was soaked and freezing all day long!  Since then, I have been a little hesitant opening up my curtains in the morning.  My second complaint is that there’s this ugly little period of spring when the beautiful glitteriness that is winter has been replaced by brown grass and muddy roads – no flowers or leaves yet – just MUD.  I also hate being reminded that my lawn in 95% dog, fox, and goose poop.

But I still feel this jittery anticipation, knowing that warm days, green grass, and beautiful flowers are on their way!  I am SO pumped for warmer weather so I can bust out my pretty flats and spring clothes (I’m still toggling between my spring jacket and my deep freeze parka).

This year Handy Hubby and I really need to focus our DIY efforts on the lakehouse exterior.  We always say we’ll do a bunch of projects outside but then our motivation wanes once it’s warm enough to get out on Lake Superior.  We tackle a couple of items, but the chores have piled up for years and, thanks to some new additions, our Spring/Summer To-Do List is scary long this year:

• strip and re-stain deck
• plant bushes along shoreline
• plant more cedars to create more privacy around the property
• start a vegetable garden?
• build new concrete step
• stain car port concrete
• pick up and shovel (ugh!) gravel for driveway
• tear down and replace vinyl siding?
• close up a superfluous exterior entrance
• finally deal with “illegal” garage structure
• move some plants and shrubs to make mowing the lawn easier
• revive the two gardens flanking the deck stairs
• do some container gardening and buy some hanging baskets
• tear down the old gasoline shack (or at least paint it)?
• build an outdoor sofa or Adirondack chairs?
• remove one segment of the dock and repair what’s left

Yikes, that’s a long list and I’m sure that’s not even everything.  Also on our list: rake the lawn (get that poop and driftwood outta there) and get that grass healthy again!  I’d love a lush, green lawn…

If your outdoor list is as scary as ours, you can lighten the load by getting a quote from TruGreen, who will evaluate your lawn and trees and provide a tailored plan for reviving or maintaining their good health.  You can read more about what they do by clicking here.  Or visit their learning centre to receive FREE information on everything from maintaining healthy trees and understanding what makes for good soil to fighting drought, to help your yard look its absolute best this year.  Last year I learned how I was cutting the lawn wrong and by correcting the problem, the grass started to bounce back (after I scorched it for years by letting it grow too long and then cutting it too short, exposing the poor little dry stuff underneath to the hot, hot sun).  This year I’m also going to implement their other lawn care tips and see if I can’t get the lush, soft grass of my dreams.

Just add it to the long, scary list!

If you’re looking at your own spring and summer to-do and know you’re missing something, here’s a handy little infographic that will give you some ideas for upgrading your backyard and patio.  Because, secretly, I just want everyone to feel as overwhelmed as I do…

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of TruGreen.ca. The opinions and text are all mine.