# First signs of spring



## maximusfish (Sep 2, 2014)

I love the first signs of spring, snowdrops and crocus and daffodils poking their colourful heads up, the return of the robins, flocks of geese flying in a graceful v formation, the song of the sparrows, the gurgle of snowmelt in the gutters, a fresh fragrant breeze blowing through windows that have been tightly closed all winter....oh sorry, I was having a flashback to my youth.

I was just sitting by my window, enjoying spring, when my neighbours started their spring rituals. On the one side, the neighbour gets out her big shop vac and vacuums her patio and walkway. Actually vacuums. Behind me, the neighbour dons full raingear and safety goggles and starts up his gas powered powerwasher. He cleans his deck and house to within an inch of its life. The process usually takes a week or two of daily cleaning. He might be better off getting a trailer and loading up his 14 year old's paddling pool and tricycle, along with numerous other important items of storage cluttering his yard. The gas powered leaf blowers haven't come out yet, I expect that treat along with the nice weather this weekend, shortly to be followed by the constant drone of gas powered lawn mowers.

A thousand curses on the guy who invented leaf blowers and a thousand more on Mr. powerwasher. Really, how clean and leaf-free does the great outdoors need to be? Has everyone forgotten the health benefits of manual labour - the rake, the broom, the quiet snickety snick of the pushmower? I think I will just close my windows and go into spring hibernation mode. Somehow, during the blissfully quiet months of winter, I forget about what spring in this city really brings.


----------



## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

ahh crap, yeah... I'll be that guy.... I'll be needing to power wash my deck in the coming months. 2 hours of annoyance and having grim all over myself beats a weeks worth of scrubbing algae with a brush. Neighbours will probably hear less noise if I don't have to do it by hand again.

I hear you though, don't know what the neighbour was doing (their whole house I suppose) but it went on all day on Wednesday. I'll leave manual labour for painting and cleaning the gutters. At least there's sun outside now.  Plus side is he doesn't have a bunch of crap within eye sight in his backyard.


----------



## Rogo (Mar 1, 2015)

Deleted...


----------



## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Rogo said:


> I have a neighbor who fires up his gas-powered leaf blower on an almost-daily basis to clear his back porch. Everyone else can use a small broom, but he, for some reason, needs a gas powered blower.


I blame Tim the Toolman Taylor for this phenomenon.


----------



## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> I blame Tim the Toolman Taylor for this phenomenon.


More power...

Hah... yeah, I'll rake the leaves, but I'm not going to bloody myself again and have to use Dr. Ho's after days of agony scrubbing my deck. I'll admit I'm lazy though if that counts for anything.


----------



## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I S Surrey we also get the ultra lights/airplanes buzzing around.


----------



## Rogo (Mar 1, 2015)

Deleted...


----------

