My yard is a beautifully landscaped oasis of flowers, ivy, and lush green hostas as far as the eye can see. At least, that’s what the yard was like when I bought the place. It was a big part of what made me fall in love with the house, but I didn’t think about the fact that the lady who lived there before me toiled in the yard daily while her husband was at work – for sixty years. It’s so much to keep up with that I am pretty sure the same bunnies who once welcomed me onto the back patio were flipping me the bird from behind an overgrown vine of roses a few weeks ago. There’s nothing like an indignant bunny to make you want to get your act together, and that is exactly what I plan to do. Bring on the mulch, the fertilizer, hedge trimmers, spades, and weed eaters, because this chick is about to get downright horticultural! And please, if you happen to drive by and see me in the yard hunched over a bucket full of fallen ornamental crab apples, sweating like a politician getting a background check, feel free to toss me a bottle of Doan’s pain reliever. I’m gonna need it.

– Tiffany Blair