Who are you calling a pansy?

I spent a wonderful weekend enjoying the fruits of my labor.  I planted pansies in our planter out front last week, cleaned up the yard this weekend, and planted the peony that has been hanging out in the fridge for a few days.  Saturday afternoon was beautiful and we decided to take Molly out for an exploratory trip in the backyard.  She was a little nervous at first but she quickly began exploring the yard and all of the new smells and sights.  We kept her on her harness but let her play a little by herself.  The sun felt glorious on my pasty winter skin and I lay in the grass. I am afraid that we may have created a monster because she spent most of the weekend plotting how to get out and meowing mournfully at the door.
Its funny but I always took a yard for granted until I didn't have one.  As a kid and later a teenager, yard work held no interest for me, in fact I avoided it like the plague.  When we lived in our apartment, we didn't have a private green space.  While that meant that I didn't have to tackle mowing the lawn and cleaning up branches and leaves, I never felt comfortable enjoying the pleasures of the outdoors, sitting in the grass, enjoying a glass of wine on the patio, choosing my favorite flowers to plant, etc.  Now that I have my own yard, I take pleasure in cleaning and caring for my yard.  I tackled removing the old rose bush and detritus left behind by the old owner with no complaining or procrastinating.  For my parents I am sure that it would be shocking!