I recently ordered 15 tons of rocks to spread over the yard. We have grass now, but it doesn’t do well in the high desert of our part of Colorado. It drives me nuts knowing that I’m wasting a valuable resource (freshwater) on a plant that shouldn’t be in my yard. So, my plan is to do what I did at my last home:
Moving the rocks has taken me many days. My modus operandi is to wait for a nice afternoon, break out the wheelbarrow, and get moving.
During one of these sessions, a neighbor stopped by to ask what I was doing. After I explained the project, he muttered:
Wow, too much work for me!
The neighbor wanted no part of moving rocks. If he had the same job to do, I’d guess he’d pay someone. But I was having a good time working on the project. My thought was that he was missing out because I always looked forward to my afternoon session with the rock pile.
It’s Not The Event…
I next thought about why I was having fun moving rocks.
I feel great. I’m 25 years removed from high-school. 46 isn’t old, but some of my high school acquaintances are already dead. A couple of them drank themselves to death. Another died from a heart attack. Jason died in an auto accident and had to be identified through dental records. I feel great. No aches and pains. I can do 10 pullups. I’m more active than ever. I’m so thankful that my body can move these rocks without complaint.
Being outside is awesome. When my neighbor asked me about the rocks, it was a beautiful afternoon in the high 50s. If I had still been working at my computer job, I would have been behind a screen at a desk. The only outside I would have seen would have been longing glances through the window every now and then. I’m so thankful that I get to be outside on beautiful days.
I have the money to buy the rocks. 15 tons of rocks along with the delivery charge set me back $662.04. I never thought I’d spend that kind of money on rocks. But because Mindy and I worked hard to accumulate a healthy nest egg, I can spend the money. I’m so thankful we don’t have to worry about finances anymore. I’m also thankful that my money supports a local business that provides jobs for others in my community.
I’m getting a great workout. Moving rocks is hard work. But hard work is good for you. My body will be a little healthier because of the rocks. I’m so thankful I can be outside doing this exercise instead of using a boring machine at the gym.
My yard is better. Next spring, I’ll plant water-friendly plants so my yard doesn’t look like the moon. My water bill will be a lot less and my yard will look a lot better. I’m thankful that I’m saving money and improving my little patch of land.
The kids get to work too. The children hate moving rocks as I hated many of the chores I had to do when I was their age. They complain as I did. But that work instilled a work ethic in me. I’m thankful that the rocks are helping to instill a work ethic in my girls.
It’s Not The Event, But Your Perception
If you’ve studied Stoicism, you know that the school of thought teaches us about how we should process what happens to us. Lesson #1 for today is this:
It’s not the event that makes us happy, but how we interpret and process it.
I could have viewed at my rock adventures in a different way:
I’d rather be riding my bike!
This is a lot of work!
I could have bought a lot of other stuff with $662!
But, where would those thoughts get me? They would take me to a bitter place of unhappiness and hate.
Negativity comes naturally for me, so choosing to view the world through a non-default filter takes work. This practice isn’t easy which brings me to the second lesson:
Your brain is not you.
Your brain will throw all kinds of thoughts at you. Some are good:
Let’s get some exercise!
Others, not so much:
Mmmmm, cake!
What you do with the thoughts is up to you. And you don’t have to entertain them.
While moving rocks, your brain may tell you to put the shovel away and go have a beer. You can tell your brain that the exercise will make you stronger while the beer will weaken you:
Brain, I am going to finish up these rocks.
While driving, your brain may tell you that the right response to the guy who cut you off in traffic is the middle finger. You can tell your brain that maybe the guy was having an emergency, so you’ll give him the benefit of the doubt:
Brain, I will not flip the guy the bird.
None of this is easy. The struggle is constant. But, the payoff is a better, more thoughtful, happier you. Is anything less worthwhile?
One More: I’m Alive
I took a break Friday afternoon for another rock moving session. The weather was wonderful and I really wanted to be outside. I got through 20 more loads and the job is close to being done. I’m so thankful that I get to spend another day on this beautiful planet, even if some of it was spent moving rocks.
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Right now while I’m still working a complex job with tons of people issues, I love those days where i just get to do concrete physical things like moving rocks! I never feel worse (though I may feel tired) after physical labor.
You’re right – the perspective matters. We’ve moved back into our rental recently, and the city is doing a big water project in the back of our lot this winter. Next year I’ll need to do a ton of work to recover and rebuild the yard and I’m looking forward to it. In addition to the joy of being health enough for physical labor, the opportunity to work on things with tangible complete results is motivating.
Ed recently posted…Wealth Accumulation Phase (Strategies and Examples)
Looks like you did a great job! I like how you bricked in the edges.
A couple years ago we made an outdoor brick pizza oven. It was a lot of work (literally a ton of concrete and bricks when into it). Had a good time though. Outside with good music and great weather. Now it is one of the main focal points on nice days when we have friends and family over. Also paid a fraction of what it would cost to hire someone to do it.
No.
We did the same thing with 12 tons of rock last year and I’ll never do it again. High school football players FTW!
Or, if you love it so much, I’ll just call you… 😉
I feel like there is something highly meditative about moving rocks, dirt, etc. Similar repetitive movements over and over (but never exactly the same – which is good for our muscles and brains) and after a few loads, the instant gratification of the progress starts to hit. Work like that grounds me. Side note: I’m pretty jealous of 10 pullups. I’m determined that one day I’ll be able to do 1 again (it’s been since my mid 20s).
I enjoyed this post – although I’ll never move rocks like this.
The positivity was what got me!
How do you do weed control? I found that my rocks were just a magnet for weed growth and I couldn’t keep up with it. It wasn’t just a few hera and there it was massive spread.
Two years ago, I volunteered to spread mulch over my friends yard. Anything to break a sweat and get my 10k steps in. Like you, I’m grateful my body can do these awesome things at 50.
How many days does it take to move 15 tons of rock…?
I just did a similar thing to my front lawn this past summer. Ripped up the useless grass (upcycled ~80% of it by giving it to others for free to lay in their yards), and installed a combination of garden boxes for veggies, flower boxes, rocks, dry river beds for drainage, lots of perennial plants, and bee turf. I also live in a dry climate in southern Alberta. A lot of sweat went into the project but my family and I did everything ourselves. (what else was there to do, thanks Covid.) Each time I see it, a sense of satisfaction is felt. Keep up the great work – I’m jealous (in a good, motivating, kind of way)!
One thing I love about replacing grass is it frees up more time from mowing. I laid 30 cubic yards of mulch this summer. It’s nice to camping on weekends vs mowing so much.
There’s something to be said about doing something yourself. It’s just so much more satisfying when the job’s complete. Also, 15 tons of rocks for $660 is (1) a lot cheaper than I expected although I’ve never priced rocks before and (2) seems like a fun prank when you’ve got that 1500 money!
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Do you wear your step counter when doing this work and have any stats for us? Inquiring minds want to know!
Yep! Next week…
I love this mindset. Wherever possible, I try to eliminate the need for time set aside to *specifically* workout where the only outcome is health improvements—though I still do solely workout. The idea is, if we can build some real labor and strenuous activity into our daily routines, we can get work done while simultaneously taking care of chores, errands, and other improvements—like your yard improvements.
We set off to a farmer’s market this morning. I thought it was one we could walk to. Instead, it was one further away and Jenni anticipated us driving. I was frustrated we’d drive instead of at least biking because it meant I was now losing out on a walk I expected and also burning some gas to get an activity done. That meant I’d actually *lose* time in my day by driving since now I’d have to cover that exercise time in a different way. Since it was only a few miles away, taking care, dealing with parking, etc. was barely any faster anyway.
This mentality seeps into lots of stuff:
– Walking and carrying groceries
– Using hand tools and muscle instead of power tools
– Making and creating nearly anything instead of buying it, where reasonable (especially with food, decor, gifts, etc.)
Good job on the productive workout!
Chris@TTL recently posted…How the 4 Expressions of Power Affect Your Wealth and Well-Being
I love this. I once hand excavated out the crawl space under the addition on our house in order to make some much needed repairs. I had to do the excavation with a folding shovel (E tool) and carry the soil up and through the house in 5 gallon buckets. All in all, I removed about 2 dump truck loads of soil. My family and friends thought I was crazy but I enjoyed the exercise and doing something hard.
The yard at your old house looks great! I also live in Colorado and would love to do that to our front and back yard currently full of dead grass, how do you determine what you are going to do landscaping wise? We’ve looked at many pictures but coming up with a plan seems overwhelming haha! Did your first time landscaping your yard go pretty smoothly? And you knew what you were going to do/supplies that would be needed? I’m sure it gets easier with each project 🙂
Chris, thanks!
“how do you determine what you are going to do landscaping wise?”
Some random thoughts:
1) Walk around your area and take note of the work of others. We spent a couple of weeks looking at some of the work of our neighbors, noting the plants they used and how they laid out the yard.
2) Use high-quality landscaping fabric under whatever your groundcover is. Weeds are tenacious!
3) Use water-friendly plants. We put plants in that we have to water once per month at most.
4) Consider what your yard will look like in a couple of years. I say this because at first, your yard may look a little sparse. That’s because you’ve given the baby plants room to grow.
Let me know if you have any other questions!