Yesterday, on Tire Swings...

...As I was saying, this rain is making me miserable and causing problems all around. Our drive (which is the fine, sifted brown creek gravel I just had to have because you know gray limestone would just clash with the color of my brick) is almost non-exsistent anymore. I am two rains at most from knowing how my ancestors must have felt as they crossed the Appalachian Mountains in their bid to settle the west. You know, the first thing I would do if I found out some long lost uncle had died and left me a bunch of money would be to concrete my drive. And I wouldn't give one hoot that concrete is gray.

I don't know about you but I hate how my yard looks during the winter, especially during an overly wet winter. One of the biggest eyesores in my backyard is our pool. You'll remember that we opted for one of the above-ground variety that could be more easily removed should we ever tire of it. Well, there it sets...in all its round glory. There is a deck around much of it but we have yet to put any lattice, etc. underneath to actually hide the darn thing. I had also hoped that we would have added some plants to further soften the look of it by now. In the summer it doesn't look bad at all, what with all the trees around in just the right spots, but during the barren winter...well, it's pretty bad.

When we opened the pool last year we found the cover was in rough shape, as it had been wind-whipped throughout the months it was in use, so John rolled it up and laid it in a nearby tree line. He told me at the time he would put it in the trash as soon as we ordered a new one, which we did within a week or two.

Almost nine months later and after a ridiculous number of requests from me for him to remove it, the cover was still there - staring at me like some stalker every single time I looked in its direction. I was always most aggravated whenever I was driving home and would come around a certain bend in the road from which my whole back yard seemed to be laid out for all to see thanks to the leafless trees. Rarely a time have I seen it that I haven't thought There it is.

Well, Wednesday while I was home with a sick child I decided I was going to do something about it. It was trash day and I was going to accomplish what I had been seeking all these past months. Really, I was just as guilty as John for it being there so long. Am I not an able-bodied adult capable of doing a little manual labor? I think so.

Now, I knew there was no way I could pick it up and carry it all the way to the end of the drive. Being able-bodied doesn't always mean one is strong. I would need my car.

My plan was brilliantly simple. I would drive my car over to the cover, reach down and take hold of it with my hand. Then using the horsepower of my automobile, drive back down the drive and dump the cover amongst the waiting trashbags.

What is it that Burns wrote of plans? The best laid schemes of mice and men often go askew.

I learned a few things that day.

1.) Pool covers are heavy, especially those that are waterlogged.

2.) I am more out of shape than originally thought.

3.) My car is not a 4-wheel drive.

4.) It is not a good idea to drive in certain areas of our yard during a wet January.

5.) Mud, under the tires of a stuck vehicle, reproduces faster than rabbits.

6.) Our truck is a 4-wheel drive.

7.) A trailer hitch and chain are good things to have around.