When did this happen?

I haven't quite finished with weeding my gardens and topping them off with a nice, rich hardwood mulch that ultimately makes the place look like it was professionally manicured.

The weeding requires me to bend over a lot. I don't have a motorized tiller, so I break the ground with either an adze or a mattock. I'll chop a little stretch of the garden that forms a horseshoe border around the perimeter of my backyard, pick out the churned weeds, then stand up straight to catch my breath.

Ouch. That was my lower back you heard protesting there.

After a moment to recover my resolve, I walk over to the pile of mulch, take my pitchfork and load up the wheelbarrow. I don't know if they make motorized pitchforks for this particular job, but I don't have one in any case. So I do it by hand.

Then I go to the area I just weeded and throw mulch over it. Looks good. Wears me out.

This was a job that once took just a couple of days. But I'm older now. In my 70s, if you must know. I suppose I could still finish the job in a couple of days, but I've gotten to where I work for just a few hours in the cool of the morning each day instead of the heat of the afternoon. I pat myself on the back for being smart about this.

And this coming from a guy who used to play golf in 90-degree weather. But playing golf and weeding are two different things. Most times, anyway.

One thing I've noticed is that when I do relax in the afternoon, everything that used to be flexible in my body now becomes stiff as a board. And it stays that way. For days. When did that happen? I used to be loosey goosey Brucie. Now I rise up out of chairs making strange guttural noises. I walk a lot slower. I take acetaminophen. I soak in water hot enough to melt wax. My back still hurts.

Hey, I really do enjoy piddling in the garden. It's mindless stuff, but it gives me time to be mindful, if that makes sense. Look, I'm not complaining. I'm just wondering.

I guess this is all part of the inexorable slide down the hill. Muscles lose mass. Bone density decreases. It doesn't seem to matter that I still go to the gym every morning. I ride a recumbent bicycle for 90 minutes, and it's about the only time of the day I feel myself getting loose.

Then I go back to working in the garden.