On Saturday, Mike vacuumed the lawn. Yes, you read that right. Mike vacuumed the lawn. This caused quite the stir in the neighborhood. I knew it would.

When I saw him head out toward the front yard with the shop vac I knew there was a method to his madness (at least in his mind); yet, for the furtherance of my own amusement I didn’t bother to ask him what he was doing with the shop vac – my smirk, puzzled look, or hysterical laughter may have dissuaded him. Instead, I just continued my work at the kitchen table as if I was oblivious to his activity. But make no mistake, I watched with great interest.

I knew right away that his likely target was probably all the bird seed that accumulates in the rocks underneath the bird feeder. It has always been a pain to deal with. As I understand it now, Mike’s plan was to blow out the bird seed with the shop vac (I didn’t even know the shop vac could blow – I thought all it could do was suck – you learn something new every day).

I have to give him his due – he does think of creative ways to accomplish some challenging projects. So, he blew out the bird seed with the shop vac.  Alas, the bird seed blew onto the lawn.  That is when the vacuuming occurred.

I watched the neighbors gazing curiously at Mike out there vacuuming the lawn and I wondered to myself how many years this would be a topic of conversation in the cul-de-sac. I imagined it coming up at every single one of my neighbor Kyle’s bonfires – “Hey, do you remember the time Mike vacuumed the lawn??!!”  Then there would be hysterical laughter and a few more beers and some jokes about Mike’s unnatural usage of his shop vac…I can envision it in all its glory.

It didn’t take long for the neighbors’ curiosity to get the best of them.  When the question of what exactly he was doing was poised to Mike I think he finally caught on to how odd the whole lawn vacuuming enterprise appeared.  Then came the exclamations of – “Oh…it isn’t what it looks like…I am not really vacuuming the lawn.”  Ummm…yes Mike, I think you were vacuuming the lawn – yep, and the whole neighborhood bore witness to it.

Of course, I simply had to share this story with the children, with friends, and now with all of you.  I want you all to appreciate what I am saying and the joy with which I saying it when I tease Mike by saying, “Why don’t you just go out and vacuum the lawn??!!” 😉

Day one thousand and one of the new forty – obla di obla da

Ms. C