Ronald T.
Troubadour
I wonder how many of you suffer from the same springtime distractions that plague me.
It seems that the moment the weather turns from cold and wet to warm and sunny, I am inundated with the chores that need to be done before the heat of full summer. Sometimes it's overwhelming.
What bothers me most is that these chores distract me from my writing. But they are chores that can't be ignored.
Perhaps it's a special problem, particular to those who live on wooded acreage. Mowing tall spring grass that grows wild among the trees is part of the fire protection process. Trimming the trees so that no limbs remain lower than twelve feet from the ground is also a necessity. And that must be followed by cleanup -- hauling the debris to a burn pile for burning next winter. And there is always the mowing and watering of the front lawn (approx. 1500 sq, ft), fenced to keep the wild pigs from rooting it from the ground. This dry California climate requires lawn watering every there days, and mowing every ten days to two weeks.
Then there's the exterior maintenance of our house. Painting siding and trim, washing dirty windows, and a seemingly endless list of other tasks. And because I'm a general contractor, those chores fall to me. I can't really say I don't know what to do, because I've been doing it for decades.
So my questions are these. Do any of you have tasks and unavoidable springtime chores that take you away from your writing? Of course, your distraction are likely to come about for different reasons than mine. But do these distractions frustrate you as much as mine do for me.
All I want to do is work on my writing projects. Yet life's necessities intrude on that desire.
Sorry! I guess I just wanted to make certain I haven't created my own prison of yearly springtime chores.
I would be very thankful if you let me know whether you face similar yearly distractions. Thanks.
It seems that the moment the weather turns from cold and wet to warm and sunny, I am inundated with the chores that need to be done before the heat of full summer. Sometimes it's overwhelming.
What bothers me most is that these chores distract me from my writing. But they are chores that can't be ignored.
Perhaps it's a special problem, particular to those who live on wooded acreage. Mowing tall spring grass that grows wild among the trees is part of the fire protection process. Trimming the trees so that no limbs remain lower than twelve feet from the ground is also a necessity. And that must be followed by cleanup -- hauling the debris to a burn pile for burning next winter. And there is always the mowing and watering of the front lawn (approx. 1500 sq, ft), fenced to keep the wild pigs from rooting it from the ground. This dry California climate requires lawn watering every there days, and mowing every ten days to two weeks.
Then there's the exterior maintenance of our house. Painting siding and trim, washing dirty windows, and a seemingly endless list of other tasks. And because I'm a general contractor, those chores fall to me. I can't really say I don't know what to do, because I've been doing it for decades.
So my questions are these. Do any of you have tasks and unavoidable springtime chores that take you away from your writing? Of course, your distraction are likely to come about for different reasons than mine. But do these distractions frustrate you as much as mine do for me.
All I want to do is work on my writing projects. Yet life's necessities intrude on that desire.
Sorry! I guess I just wanted to make certain I haven't created my own prison of yearly springtime chores.
I would be very thankful if you let me know whether you face similar yearly distractions. Thanks.