It's hell getting old.

Yesterday I planned to clear the undergrowth that had accumulated along the electric fence. Mostly it was grass and weeds but in some places the undergrowth consisted of small saplings of Redbuds and thick briars.

So to handle the problem with the least effort I rented a industrial weed eater and an industrial hedge trimmer. I remembered years ago I did this by hand and almost perished of poison ivey. I got these nasty blisters everywhere that lasted for weeks.

At 7:30 AM I fired up the equipment and got to work. By 8:15 AM I was completely dehydrated and exhausted from holding the heavy/shakey equipment. I mean dog ass tired. I was barely 1/3 of the way into it and had not even gotten to the bad places with heavy undergrowth.

I went back up to the house to rest and drink water. I noticed blood on my left arm and two bleeding blisters on my left hand. This was after only 45 minutes with heavy work gloves.

I decided to break down the work into manageable 30 minute shifts with 30 minute rest breaks. I thought mentally and physically I could pull off two or three of these before I died from exhaustion.

That strategyy worked for the planned two cycles before I gave up for the day. I'll deal with the rest tomorrow.

My canine pals Haley and Cedie had benn "helping" me most of the morning. Cedie is very good about hanging around and staying close to home. She mostly suns on the deck this time of year. Toady was no different.

Haley however is more of a free spirit, willing to explore. She followed me all along the fence and occationally waded in the creek to cool off.

As previously discussed, I decided to call it a day in the yard and rest before I showered. Haley gladly stretched out under the picnic table to rest with Cedie.

After some time had pasted Gigi asked where Haley and Cedie were. Cedie was where I left her, but Haley had moved on.

Usually just a quick shout, HALEY!, and she would come running. This time however she was nowhere in sight.

To make a long story short, I found Haley about a mile away hiding in some think woods waiting for a familiar face to come by. Once she heard my diesel truck she came running down the remote gravel drivway to flag me down. Cedie was with me and she was beside herself.

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