The other day I was outside on the ladder, working on glazing and repairing some windows, when I heard my next-door neighbor (age 3) calling through the hedge, “Hey, we have a huge pile of mulch we have to spread it out, and you should come over here and help me, because this is TOUGH!”

I think the whole neighborhood knows how he feels. This past week, I’ve seen all sorts of hard work happening on my quiet street. Mountains of mulch being spread in flower beds, tillers churning up veggie gardens, the near-constant sounds of mowers and engines and saws, yards adorned with sawhorses and wheelbarrows and tools.

My own yard shows its own signs of improvement, too – my new driveway and retaining wall got a load of rip-rap and gravel; the flower beds received the first of several dozen bales of pine straw; the gutters are clean; and of course there are storm windows, ladders, and empty tubes of caulk and glazing lying around everywhere right now as the windows get a much-needed makeover.

Everyone seems to welcome exercise and fresh air this time of year – it’s a good time to take care of the bigger jobs before the sweltering summer heat sets in, and it feels good to spend the longer evenings admiring a job well done. And I’m nine windows down, four to go, so I’d better get back to work!