My work is cut out for me

Spring is here, and I can finally get started on the garden I've been planning since last summer.  But first, the garden beds need a lot of work before they are ready for seedlings.  Actually, the whole backyard needs a ton of work before anything can happen. My to-do list is long...very, very long!

As you can see, the weeds took advantage of the ridiculously warm summer-like weather we had in March, and are already taking over my vegetable beds:

Obviously, I need to spend a good amount of time weeding the beds before they can be tilled.

And I finally gave in to my OCD tendencies and purchased landscaping timber to border the garden beds.  This will give us a clear border between garden and lawn, making it easier for The Big Guy to mow and trim, and better protecting my precious vegetable plants.  Thanks to Handy Freddy for picking up the lumber!

Once the garden beds are weeded and tilled, I'll install the border. Here, I put three sections of the timber together so you can get an idea of where I'm going with this:

I have a few peony plants coming up on the north side of the house, and I need to get some mulch around them before The Big Guy accidentally mows them down.  In which case, I will accidentally punch him in the throat. It happens, right?

Note to The Big Guy: This is what a peony plant looks like. Do not run it over!

In fact, all of the flower beds need to be mulched, as do all the fruit trees.  Add that to the list!

The compost bins (all three of them) are 2/3 full.  I need to do some rearranging of the piles to make room for all of the stuff that will be coming its way in the next few months.

Gasp! See that bed of weeds in the foreground of the picture?  That's where my asparagus is planted.  Weeding is making several appearances on my garden to-do list.

Item #458 on the to-do list is to hook up this rain barrel.  I am the proud owner of two rain barrels, but this one (that I got for my birthday last fall...thanks, Big Guy!) needs to be connected to the downspout.  I'm searching online for a fancy connector that will let me switch back and forth between directing water to the rain barrel and keeping it moving through the downspout, so if you have any sources, please let me know in the comments.  Thanks!

Add to the list cleaning out the gutters, making the trellises, and on and on and on, and I have a very busy spring ahead of me.   I can't wait!