Does this look dangerous to you?

It shouldn't. It looks like a nice little fern garden just coming up for the spring, right. Well, if you look in the background of the picture you will see a big ol pile a leaves, then a drop off where the hill gets steeper. Well, three weeks ago, I was out there, bustin my butt, raking those horrible leaves. At that time, the leaves were about 6-9 inches deep where the ferns are. We've been raking into that corner for the last 3 years, forgetting about the ferns underneath. Anyway, I was raking away with my big green plastic rake at the tree line, had some momentum going and attempted to rake the huge pile into the woods.

Problem 1. The rake broke in two.

Problem 2. I had momentum going down toward the steep hill.

Problem 3. I'm knee deep in wet dead leaves, which leads to

Problem 4. Me keeping going with said momentum into the woods, twisting my ankle and falling part way down the hill into said wet, dead leaves!

About this time I look up to the house next to ours and see the neighbor on the back deck trying VERY hard not to laugh while asking me if I'm o.k. I lie "Oh, I'm fine. Its too wet to rake out here today, I think I'll go in"

Flash forward three hours. Ankle swollen to the size of a small melon, wrapped in an ACE bandage I luckily found in the closet and a bag of frozen corn placed on top to hopefully reduce the swelling.

Flash forward to the next morning, explaining to my students why I am wearing and ankle wrap, why I can't walk right and how I got that nasty looking scratch on my arm. (It wasn't big, but it was red and gross for a few days). Then listening the them laugh as I told them, well, Mrs. Gray fell down a hill while raking yesterday. It can only happen to me.