The morning after returning from the mountains, I washed the stinky, wet towels, dog mats and packs. The combined weight actually tore my retractable clothesline off the wall, terminally breaking it in the process. 
The remainder of the week has been spent reclaiming a small pond by the house. The dogs watched patiently as I tackled the overgrown cattails.
Some of the cattails were dug up with the backhoe but this mess required hand pulling.
Unable to stand in the boot eating, suck mud, my only other option was a 25' x 1" x 5" board laid across the narrow part of the pond. Balancing on the slick, slack board, I reached down and pulled up the long, fibrous, firmly planted, roots. It took a couple of days but I filled the tractor bucket 5 times and only fell into the water once. An added benefit was that my thighs and back got a bit of a workout toward getting in shape for skiing.
The dogs were convinced that I was doing the work just for them. Cattail roots are a delicacy they could not get enough of. Raiding my pile involved dodging my shore tosses. Occasionally a dog would suffer a muddy thwack if they became distracted while selecting their wad of root. The feast was held out of my throw range.
The work was worth it. I only have a couple more rhodys and ferns to plant and I have my pond garden back.
The remainder of the week has been spent reclaiming a small pond by the house. The dogs watched patiently as I tackled the overgrown cattails.
Some of the cattails were dug up with the backhoe but this mess required hand pulling.
Unable to stand in the boot eating, suck mud, my only other option was a 25' x 1" x 5" board laid across the narrow part of the pond. Balancing on the slick, slack board, I reached down and pulled up the long, fibrous, firmly planted, roots. It took a couple of days but I filled the tractor bucket 5 times and only fell into the water once. An added benefit was that my thighs and back got a bit of a workout toward getting in shape for skiing.
The dogs were convinced that I was doing the work just for them. Cattail roots are a delicacy they could not get enough of. Raiding my pile involved dodging my shore tosses. Occasionally a dog would suffer a muddy thwack if they became distracted while selecting their wad of root. The feast was held out of my throw range.
The work was worth it. I only have a couple more rhodys and ferns to plant and I have my pond garden back.