Planting workout

Did you know that you can burn 340 calories an hour while gardening?  The other weekend Mark and I spent over 2 hours doing major Fall yard work to get our plants ready for the bitter Minnesota winter.  I trimmed my hydrangeas back (last year I didn't have time and I spent the winter in embarrassment as the giant dead heads rolled around the neighborhood like tumbleweeds.  And yes, I am the only one in the neighborhood with those plants so it was apparent who the culprit was), transplanted bulbs from the north side of the house to the south side (something I've wanted to do since we moved into this house 5 years ago), and moved our huge hostas to make room for the new down spouts.  It was a big job, but as we were trying to chip through rock and roots, I reminded myself of how many calories we were burning.  Gardening is a great workout.  You tend to use many muscle groups that normally lay dormant, and it's great cardio if you are digging through rock hard dirt as we were.  So if you don't have time for a work out, have lots of yard work like we do, or if you have an elderly neighbor who needs help, get out there and burn some calories while enjoying the weather before the snow comes!

(don't laugh, they're looking a little rough but they should bounce back in the spring)