I'm not there yet, but one of these days I'll have a friend start mowing at least the front maybe every other week. I haven't made it easy with the way things are planted, there is no clear path/pattern around the yard, so if I hire someone I may have to simplify the landscaping a bit.
The answer to the gnats is - drumroll - a bag of potatoes that was going bad in a kitchen storage bin. Not enough to have a smell (that I detected, at any rate) but that was a breeding environment for the flies. They're in the trash can at the moment but when I get time I'll dig into the compost and bury them there. A couple might go into a bed to grow more potatoes. I have one bed, but could stand a couple more that would be harvested later.
I've rolled two of five log segments from where we left them last year when the big hackberry was cut down. I'm thinking one by the front door as a seat and to add to the blocks that conceal parcels delivered there. Maybe one for a pot by the side door, and the other three can be donated if someone is into the rustic seating look. They may need a winch or to wear a truss to lift the things; even after a year of "drying" they're still incredibly heavy.
Despite the forecast it has turned into a lovely sunny afternoon. And in the end of April it is 90o.