The Injury Report
I have to say, I've been slowing down this week. It did rain a lot, which let me stay inside and skip some waterings, and it's been nice to back off a bit as that short break has become kind of a habit. After two (almost) solid months of hard labor, I'm kind of tired. There's still a lot to do before winter, but now that things are planted and summer is winding down, I'm fine with just picking at things instead of working 8-hour days out there. It would be nice to enjoy some fun stuff before summer is over, too.
Another reason to take it a little easier is that I'm racking up gardening-related aches and pains like nobody's business. From top to toe, here's the litany:
1. Scalp sunburn. Preventable for sure, but working suntan lotion into the line of my part every single day is kind of horrible. I know, I know: not as horrible as melanoma....
2. Tennis elbow.
Or some other tendonitis, both elbows. I think this comes from the repetitive stress of shoveling. Maybe I have bad technique; probably this injury is measured in tonnage.
3. Hand cramps. This one is from pulling weeds and affects my now-shrinking bricklayer's muscle in both hands. I don't think this would be a problem with normal weed-pulling, but I'm doing some crazy-ass, surgically precise weeding in the lawn to get rid of the crabgrass without pulling out all our nice, new grass. This means I'm using just my thumb and forefinger like pincers, over and over and over. I will never again treat the lawn like an ICU patient after this fall, but it's been really worth the extra effort to get it off to a good start. And to throw back in the faces of the haters who said we couldn't get it to grow in the middle of the summer.
4. Calluses galore. These are right where my fingers meet my palms--there's a great callus at the base of each finger, and sometimes they peel off in a big piece. Gross, but way better than blisters in the same spot. This is also from shoveling.
5. Fingernail pain. That's a terrible description, but what I mean is that there is so much dirt shoved under my fingernails each day that it hurts right at the spot where the nail is attached to your finger (the "quick" of the phrase "cut to the quick"). I don't know if this is because the dirt is pushed so far in it's forcing the nail to separate from the finger or if I'm irritating that area when I'm cleaning them, but anyway, it kinda hurts.
6. Lower back and hamstring tightness. This is from bending over to pull weeds and plant stuff. On the other hand, I think all the isometric movement is sculpting my legs in a lovely way. Too bad it's making some yoga poses more miserable (and more necessary).
7. Bug bites. A great reason to quit earlier in the evening, before the mosquitoes come out.
None of these things is too terrible, but I think I have earned some long breaks and shorter work sessions, right? That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.
Another reason to take it a little easier is that I'm racking up gardening-related aches and pains like nobody's business. From top to toe, here's the litany:
1. Scalp sunburn. Preventable for sure, but working suntan lotion into the line of my part every single day is kind of horrible. I know, I know: not as horrible as melanoma....
2. Tennis elbow.
3. Hand cramps. This one is from pulling weeds and affects my now-shrinking bricklayer's muscle in both hands. I don't think this would be a problem with normal weed-pulling, but I'm doing some crazy-ass, surgically precise weeding in the lawn to get rid of the crabgrass without pulling out all our nice, new grass. This means I'm using just my thumb and forefinger like pincers, over and over and over. I will never again treat the lawn like an ICU patient after this fall, but it's been really worth the extra effort to get it off to a good start. And to throw back in the faces of the haters who said we couldn't get it to grow in the middle of the summer.
4. Calluses galore. These are right where my fingers meet my palms--there's a great callus at the base of each finger, and sometimes they peel off in a big piece. Gross, but way better than blisters in the same spot. This is also from shoveling.
5. Fingernail pain. That's a terrible description, but what I mean is that there is so much dirt shoved under my fingernails each day that it hurts right at the spot where the nail is attached to your finger (the "quick" of the phrase "cut to the quick"). I don't know if this is because the dirt is pushed so far in it's forcing the nail to separate from the finger or if I'm irritating that area when I'm cleaning them, but anyway, it kinda hurts.
6. Lower back and hamstring tightness. This is from bending over to pull weeds and plant stuff. On the other hand, I think all the isometric movement is sculpting my legs in a lovely way. Too bad it's making some yoga poses more miserable (and more necessary).
7. Bug bites. A great reason to quit earlier in the evening, before the mosquitoes come out.
None of these things is too terrible, but I think I have earned some long breaks and shorter work sessions, right? That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.
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