Trailblazing!

I leaned upon the sturdy staff, gasping for breath, every muscle in my body aching. I had done it - I had reached the end. Looking back, I viewed the uneven terrain - the long ignored trail upon which mankind had not trod for countless ages - the trail I had just traveled. I sniffled in the cold, late-winter dusk and smiled proudly. From the Western Steppes, through seemingly impassable brambles and thickets, I had conquered the Northern Trail!

Translation:
Last year, between dealing with my mother's breast cancer, my brother's divorce, a 2-year old, and 2 lawnmowers that refused to work, our wooded acre and a half became somewhat over-grown. One of the sacrifices we had to make was a little path that runs along the northern side of our backyard. A normally pretty little path that begins at brick steps by our greenhouse and lined with daffodils and snowdrops was cluttered with weeds, fallen branches, and poison ivy. With it's gradual slope, the path was the easiest trail from the house to the barn at the eastern end of the yard - but it was not the most direct path and so it fell into disuse.

Today - the last day of winter - as the sun was lowering in the western sky, I took our trusty, rusty garden rake and cleared the path once more - just in time for the first of the Spring flowers.