Spring projects '26

I recently finished a week of vacation. I try to take time off in April each year, with dual goals of taking a needed break from my job and giving myself some time to work on outdoor projects, so this year I booked PTO from Thursday to this past Wednesday. As winter starts to tail off, the itch to do springtime-y things outdoors grows stronger. I start looking forward to my April vacation, planning and making project notes and lists way ahead of time. As the time approaches, I somewhat anxiously watch the weather forecasts change - hoping that nice weather will prevail - as the calendar slowly creeps toward my destination. Last April, the weather was uncooperative for my entire vacation, so I ended up having to tackle my projects on weekends later in the spring. This year, aside from a cold snap coming out of the weekend, the weather was generally much better, so I was able to accomplish most of my goals. The bulk of my efforts were around garden soil preparation, including breaking,…