It’s summer here, I know officially that summer hasn’t started yet, but it definitely feels like summer is here with soaring temperatures, hot sun and steamy air. We’ve been very fortunate this spring because we’ve had lots and lots of rain (compared to last year when we had almost no rain and our lake dropped to 16 feet below the normal water level).
So what do hot sun, warm temperatures and lots of rain give you?
If you answered weeds, then go to the front of the class!
Weeds, Weeds, Weeds
I spend nearly an hour every other day pulling weeds thanks to all this beautiful weather and lots and lots of rain. I love gardening. I never thought I’d enjoy it as much as I do, but I’m down to the point where I want to buy a big straw hat and become a real southern woman working in her garden every day. But the weeding is a full time job because between the drought last year killing most of the grass and the plethora of rain we have this year encouraging all those weeds to fill in the empty spots in the yard and the garden.
If you are like me and spend a lot of time doing active garden maintenance mowing, weed pulling, pruning and planting, you’ll be burning around 8.6 calories per minute. That’s over 500 calories an hour burned with one hour of continuous yard work.
Mowing works the muscles in your back, your legs and your arms. If you go up and down hills, you’re increasing the resistance in your gardening workout. If you work out every other day and garden on your off days, do you know you can burn as much as 3500 calories per week? Easy?
Gardening Can Be So Much Fun
Gardening is a wonderful way to relieve stress, to feel accomplished and to help propel a weight loss program. But be sure to practice good sense when you are gardening or weed pulling for that matter – don’t do it in the high heat of the day. You don’t want to overheat or suffer from heat stroke. Also be sure to wear sunscreen to prevent sunburn.
Remember to hydrate yourself as well as your garden. All of these reasons and more are why I like to do my gardening in the early hours of morning and later on in the evening.
Do you enjoy working in your garden?
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