More About Sod From 2006

The sod adventure has grown to near over-whelming proportions. As noted in the first blog entry, I assumed would be procuring just a small sample of the football field turf, as a novelty of sorts, something I could point out to friends and claim as being the very piece of turf where rookie quarterback Jay Cutler lost his cookies, or something like that.

 

However, after delivering all the sod that sister Patti wanted to her home, I discovered there was a lot of the stuff left for the taking, so instead of a small bit, I ended up with five truckloads of the stuff.

 

Five freakin' truckloads. That is a lot of sod.

 

Fortunately for me, I can actually put the five truckloads to good use, as I do not have much to brag about in the backyard at all, just a lot of weeds and dirt.

 

Unfortunately for me, it also means a whole heckuva lot of work. Just getting all the sod into the backyard was backbreaking - each roll weighing anywhere from 125 to 150 pounds. I'm not a lightweight by any means, but I'm now inclined to believe that toting 60 rolls of sod would qualify as one of those World's Strongest Man stunts that ESPN2 has on at 3:00 in the morning.

 

My neighbor Rob came over when I was starting to unload the last truckload,which was very much appreciated. Brad, John, and Tom showed up after we finished - yes, the minute the last roll was off-loaded, those three show up, beers in hand, chock full of advice on what I needed to do to prepare the yard.

 

Rob, John and Brad all actually had sod experience, so I did heed what they had to say. Fred, the neighbor with the most enviable lawn in the neighborhood, came over too with advice as well, but as he moved into a home with a lawn to envy, he really didn't have much to contribute.

 

The first order of business, it was decided, was to rototill the area I was going to sod. So John and I got out the rototiller (purchased 3 years ago for $80.00 at a hardware store's clearance of rental equipment - it has rototilled lawns at John & Brad's, my sister Patti's old house, Carl's house in Thornton, and even Carl's parent's house in Chicago - and now, finally, mine), and set about getting it operational.

 

Fresh oil, gas, and then setting the depth adjustment guage...except the depth adjustment guage was broken. Oh well, how important can that be? I'd just eyeball the depth of the blades...

 

Right. I had to wrestle that stupid depth-guageless rototiller like a wild bronco. Took me a good eight hours to get the job done, and I think I lost twenty pounds - which triggered the idea of marketing rototilling as a weight-loss routine. I could see it clearly in my mind, legions over overweight people plowing up their backyards with depth-guageless rototillers. Of course it soon hit me that it would have to be available in pill form somehow, as it seems actual physical activity is shunned by those who want to lose weight.

 

The rototilling done, I collapsed in exhaustion on the deck steps, barely able to hold the cold Coors Light in my hand, much less get it to my lips.

 

 I had to rest for almost thirty minutes before I had the energy to clean up.