Go figure.

For the past couple months the theme of my life has been the proverbial 1 step forward, 8 steps back. Sometimes it is THINK about 1 step forward, 8 steps back. I know there will be a point where there is a pay off for the recent struggle but right now I'm just flat out exhausted from the effort it takes to conjure up the enthusiasm to keep taking that 1 step knowing the inevitable backwards steps are coming.

 I'm not trying to be dark or moody. I'm not dealing with death or illness, or pain. Just worn out and tired. And it will pass.

 Mother nature has never been one to check with me to see if I wish to participate in the annual spring yard clean up. Try as I might winter always turns to spring and with it mowing and cleaning out flower beds and dead branches in the yard. I always wonder where mulch goes between seasons. I buy a multitude of bags of mulch each year and I only stop because there are better things to spend money on! So, in all my spare time I've been working on getting my yard ready for spring and I  get my front walk way looking like this:

The little solar lights are new. I bought them on a whim at a grocery store for a whopping $2.50 each. I've always liked the look, but wasn't holding my breath that they would really work. And despite the lack of logic in which I buy something not thinking it will work but *hoping* it will, I put them in the ground and waited for dark. Lo and behold the little buggers worked. When the sun went down I was rewarded with this:

And they cast a pretty cool shadow:

There have been so many things recently that should have worked and didn't, despite hours and hours of effort and these cheap little yard ornaments that cost $2.50 fire right up the first time with almost zero effort. Go figure. But I'll take it!