Mantis Magic

I know, this would be way more impressive had I taken a before photo. Let me describe before for you. Weedy and grayish, with some sad little tendrils of grass poking up that I planted a year and a half ago. Now it has been tilled and raked, with another tilling and raking to do tomorrow. Tilling, you say? Indeed I did! Less then two hours ago I ventured out into the almost entirely cleaned and organized garage and assembled my new Mantis tiller! I gotta say this is the sweetest little gardening tool ever. Today was an experimental run to practice minding the cord and the general handling of the thing. The area was in an ideal state for tilling, the recent snow had melted into the ground over the last couple of days leaving it soft but not mooshy. I did miss a few small areas and also need to use the shovel to loosen things up next to the patio stones and sidewalk. I am pleased with these first results and can't wait to get back out there tomorrow. The cranky hands need some cannabis cream and a good rest overnight to be ready for stage two. Maybe a glass of wine, too. Not while I'm tilling. With dinner. This time around I'm seeding with about 75% dwarf clover and 25% drought resistant grass seed, the same stuff I used the first time I attempted creating a lawn in this space. So maybe my dreams of a beautiful, lower maintenance, low water consumption clover lawn will become a reality this year. Crossing my brown thumbs just in case.