Weed Wacker at 8:45 am Guy: Why Won't You Just Die?

I must admit, this morning I was that guy. It wasn't frivoulous suburban lawn care though, It was for the cause. I had to prepare the location for my new planter box. It is the first one of twelve that I have set aside space for in the backyard. Unfortuately, my ground here is clay, and what's not clay, is rocks. It took an all-day herculean gardening effort to get the first one done, but hopefully, the second and third won't take as long. I'll only do three this spring, because that's all I need with the amount of vegetables I've planted, but come fall, I'll be a busy little *beaver*.
Yesterday I released about 4500 ladybugs into the backyard in order to attempt some aphid control; but as I turned over my compost heap today in order to work it into my new raised garden, I realized the problem was much more widespread. I've sprayed Murphy's Oil Soap on the plants, but it may take drastic ant-death measures to kill the aphids.
This afternoon, I took CK up to the International Rose Test Garden like I had promised. We had a blast munching paximadia and sipping iced coffee in the late afternoon sun. I even whipped out the 35mm for the occasion. Hopefully, something I took will be worth framing, and if not, I'll use it as subjects for oil on canvass. It's like en plein air, only in the studio.