Almost Spring Slump & Earthworm Rescue

Well, I didn't post in over a week. That's very unusual for me. I just couldn't think of anything interesting about which to write. It's not that I took a break from my frugal life for a week. Quite the contrary, I went shopping at the bargain store and had some amazing finds. I continued to de-clutter, clean and organize (though, I must admit it's going slowly). I have a stack of things for re-purposing.

I just got in a bit of a slump in general. It happens. A good friend advised me never to waste time or energy beating myself up for getting off track, going into a slump, having a blue day, whatever... but rather to recognize it and then move on. Okay, so moving on...

We had a brief break in winter weather that brought us springlike temperatures for two days. So, we made the most of it. We knew as we worked that the break would be followed by a very cold week. I planned to retreat back inside and return to cleaning, decluttering, organizing and repurposing (does it ever end).

Over the weekend, hubby and I cleaned our yard somewhat. At least we got a pretty good start on the big spring clean. We have a large yard by most standards (2 acres) and a lot of trees. Which means a lot of leaves. Even with raking in the fall, there are a lot that continue to fall throughout the winter so we have to do another pass in the spring. This means a lot of compost material for the garden.

Hubby has started his seedlings for this year's garden. He is the expert on growing all things organic, heirloom and delicious. That's his blog over to the right (John's Garden Blog)... visit it if you really want to know more about our garden efforts. I'm just excited to hear what he's preparing to plant and can't wait until we have the fresh bounty.

Yesterday it rained... and rained. And, then, it rained some more. As I walked to our mailbox down our gravel road, I saw earthworms everywhere. They were escaping the saturated soil. However, they are not fortunate enough to be able to visit weather.com and see that this water was about to become ice and they would be frozen on the road. So, I donned my poncho and went out with a bucket and began the earthworm rescue. Okay, now my family thinks I'm certifiably nuts.

But, we had just created two huge new compost piles of leaves and I knew they would make the perfect home for our earthworm friends during this weather event. The compost pile would certainly benefit as would the earthworms. So, I rescued... maybe 40 or so earthworms, from being squished under the tires of a vehicle or frozen. I carried them to the huge pile of leaves and dumped them on top. I stood and watched them begin to crawl into the leaves and smiled as I went to tell my hubby what good deed I'd just finished for his garden.

My oldest daughter called because my mother told her she saw me rescuing the earthworms and that I had officially lost it. When I explained why I was out in the cold rain rescuing earthworms, she laughed and said, "okay, Dali Mama."

I think I should be nominated for gardener's wife of the year for my efforts! :)