Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Those of you who know us well know that yard work is not high on our list of priorities. We have a service who cares for the yard and other than talking with them a few times per year, that about covers it. Our yard apathy is so great that we literally turned in our yard debris barrel several years ago because we never used it. Ever.

Well, this summer, we were both motivated to get our hands dirty and do some landscaping for a small corner of our yard. Not sure why. (Others seem to think we are ill or have been taken over by aliens of some kind.) Either way, we had a small area in the back yard that used to be grass surrounded by a bed of roses. Well, the deer who wander through the yard eat the roses and we killed off the grass when the play structure went in two years ago. So, we've had a patch of dirt with some sticks in it just waiting for us. At the beginning of the summer, it was surrounded by a rock wall in back, as well as LOTS of wild strawberry and ferns.

I worked for more hours that I expected necessary to remove the dying roses, wild strawberries and cut back the ferns. We then met with a local nursery that offers free landscape design services.

They gave us drawings and some direction.

T's folks came and helped. His Mom watched the kids while his Dad dug most of the holes for planting.

Voila!

And that is how I spent my summer vacation!

Yard Work and Fresh Produce

We needed to rearrange a few things in our backyard, due to the addition of the play structure. I have tried 6 times to post these photos and now that I have them here, I realize they are out of order. Oh well. 

Here is G. T is behind taking a break and trying to keep her entertained. She was the chief supervisor on the project. 

This photo gives you a better idea of where the work was being completed while G supervised at a safe distance from B's shovel. 

Here are the snap peas that we picked up at Farmer's Market that morning. I shelled them while the boys worked. Yes, they were delicious. 

Here you see T & B, shovels in hand, removing sod, in preparation to set up a new area of paving stones. 

Seriously, T & I both were using shovels, garden gloves on, mud on our shoes. Real garden labor for the first time in AGES. We moved paving stones from Point A to Point B in the backyard, since Point A is now covered with bark chips in an attempt to keep a safety zone around the play structure. The moss had grown over the stones to the point we had no idea how many stones needed to be moved, nor the size and/or shape of the stones. We both worked on digging, but T did the hard part of placing the stones together in their new location. When we complete the project, I will post photos. No guarantee on a deadline.