Another Update on the Yard

Yet again... Another update on the yard. It's all we have really done lately. 

It looks better and better every time Ian mows! Less weeds and more real grass! Although there are still plenty of weeds...

 

This was a nice patch of almost all grass! We were so excited!

I even got me a hanging basket! Because who I am kidding thinking I can attempt having flowers in my flower beds...

 I love my Irises! Best yard surprise ever!

Let the Yard Work Commence

(Another current post... I'm on a roll.)

Finally! A nice day! Ian worked out in the yard all afternoon/evening. The weeds were in desperate need of a mowing.  Hopefully someday there will be more grass than weeds...

He got the sprinkler system up and running for the year. It sucks we had to wait this long. It's been super windy so the yard, aka weeds, were drying out bad. Dragging that hose around is for the birds!

I didn't hear the mower going anymore, so I went outside to find Ian. I almost walked around the house twice before I found him in the forest. He was able to get some of the leaves cleaned out of the ditch a couple weeks ago. He went to finish the job... and there was water in it! So he had an extra fun time of doing it. MMM... soggy leaves!

We still need to get the leaves he pulled out cleaned up, but it was getting dark and we were hungry. It would have been nice if we could have cleaned them up last fall, but we had just planted, the ground was super soggy, and I didn't want giant foot prints throughout my yard.

Ian worked hard getting wet leaves out of the ditch... I worked hard on taking pictures of my flowers...

And the neighbors... 

Tulips are my favorite! Maybe someday I'll have more!

It was nice to finally be outside. I hope it gets warm and stays warm soon.

First BBQ of 2013!

(Wow... this is actually a current post. This happened just the other day!)

We love when friends come over! Especially these ones :)

The weather is almost starting to get nice... so we grilled hamburgers & made s'mores!!

Our fire pit's first use... Somehow we managed not to use it at all last summer. That will not be the case this year!

I just love our cute patio!

Franchesca was quite concerned for Ian's feet. :)

Good friends, good food, and lots of fun! Can't wait to do it again!

The "Grass" aka Sore Subject

Who knew planting grass could be such a nightmare....Where we didn't plant in the spring, and had to wait all summer, it was a HUGE battle with the weeds! Ian tells a great story how he had to do the bunny hop with the lawn mower :) But... it's finally done.

After planting, we had to take a load of crap dirt to the dump, or transfer station, or whatever it was. It was definately a first for us as a couple. Seriously being in the middle of nowhere trying to find the place, wondering if we should turn around or keep going. And having no cell service...

We kept going and finally found it. Only to find out there was a $40.00 fine for un-covered loads. Awesome. Luckily we didn't have to pay it. I was ready to turn around and go home if we did. The experience just kept getting better and better...

We made it up to the dump site.

If looks could kill... :) Clearly this picture was taken at the start of the unloading process.

It didn't help that the two morons trying to unload the truck had a plastic snow shovel, and a regular shovel with a broken handle to work with...

I didn't think it would take too long to unload the truck. No No No! It was getting later and later and Ian had to get to work. At this point I was kicking the dirt out of the truck and down on my hands and knees pushing it out with my hands.

It was truly an experience neither of us will ever forget. That pile doesn't look very big for being 1000 lbs of damp dirt that did nothing but stick together.

You know when you do something, and have to hope and pray that it works. I do not work well with these kinds of situations... It took about 3 weeks to tell it worked, but once we barely saw green, it kept progressing pretty fast.

Our grass has been quite the sore subject. Especially for Ian, but I thought I'd document the lovely experience. Hopefully it will come in even better in the spring. After all, we're just two kids who have no idea what they are doing with a yard!!!

Ladies In Red

We released 1500 ladybugs in to our yard the other night. Crazy that there was that many in that little bag... They're supposed to "organically" kill the bad bugs. Someone told us about it and we thought it would be cool! If anything... it was just fun to release them!

Ian was making all sorts of crazy faces. Apparently they tickled!! I love this picture, and my husband, and our yard. :)

We went around from tree to tree holding the bag up to it and letting them crawl out. They just kept coming and coming...

Ian wanted to get praying mantis too, but I didn't want to spend $20 on bugs... At one point the ladybugs were in my fridge next to the chicken I was cooking for dinner!

Ian got to use his birthday present from last year for the first time... We made dutch over chicken and potatoes. Well.. the potatoes were in a regular pot, but they still turned out really good. We need to get another dutch oven or two....

We love our patio! I want to be out there all summer. It's pretty much shaded all day long! We had a few extra flavor bursts in our food though... The tree above thought it needed to shed a bit!

Gardening for Dummies...

I am definitely not a gardener... Funny, since I majored (or tried to) in Horticulture. I was more interested in the floral design part rather than the growing part though.

I decided where my yard is under construction right now, I still wanted something to brighten the place up. I have a nice big flower bed right out front. I have no idea where to even begin with that thing... so I figured I could handle some pots for my stairs. I hope they turn out and I don't kill them!

I originally started with 3 pots for my front stairs. I got a little flower happy at the nursery though, and had more flowers then pots.

So we went and grabbed 2 more. I hope I didn't fill them too full. (I have no idea what I'm doing!) I tried to go off of the ones for sale at the nursery.

I love them! I can't wait for the flowers to start blooming! I hope it adds a little happiness to the front of my house.

Because we still have a little left to do, along with planting the grass...

I'm glad I had to go get 2 more pots. I rarely come home from work and go in my front door. I'm glad I get to have some on my back stairs too!

I love flowers! We'll see how this year goes... I would love for my big flower bed to be full of color next summer! Calla Lilies are my favorite! I didn't know you could grow them around here... They were all over the nursery though. Maybe I'll be adventurous next year!

Sprinkler System Part II

The backyard now has sprinklers! Guess how much we saved by Dad and Ian putting it in themselves? $2500... Yes, it was time consuming and Ian can barely move today... but it's so worth it!

This weekend was much warmer than the first. It was such a nice day yesterday! It took all day, but they got it done!

Brooke even came to help!

Remnants of the stumps needed to be removed. Lumberjack Brooke to the rescue...

Tulips are my favorite! This is the second set we've had bloom. They're in a bunch of weeds, but it makes me happy to see them. Especially while the rest of the yard is under destruction.

He's just so cute when he's handy!

I'm sure it wouldn't have taken so long if we didn't have to run to town TWICE for parts! The first time we went, Brooke and I were on a wild goose chase! Home Depot, Lowes, back to Home Depot, Cal Ranch, Pipeco, and finally ACE came through for us.

How many Lowes employees does it take to help you not find something you need... 4! Yep, that is definitely one of my least favorite stores. Still.

Had to go back to Home Depot a third time, and Lowes a second time on my second trip to town. Dear home improvement stores, please carry all parts we need and keep them in stock! Thanks. That was exhausting all in its self...

Ian just needs to adjust a few of the heads now. Pretty hard to see in the dark... Gotta water lots to let it settle, harrow one more time, then we should be ready to plant!

Real Men Dig Holes

Friday night Ian and I were out walking around the yard looking at what needs to be done. Our neighbor was out too so we ended up talking for a while. It was a real Home Improvement moment... In more ways then one! Haha. Totally reminded me of Home Improvement out talking by the fence. And... we were both out working in our yards.

Well, he said he'd help Ian dig out the two stumps in our back yard. It was so great! We knew we wanted them gone, but had no idea how to go about it. With the size of the stumps alone... we knew they were big trees!

So yesterday morning the boys went to work on getting rid of them. It was so awesome! Ian had 3 neighbors helping him between physical labor, chain saws, and big trucks!

Those are pretty big holes when he's in there waist deep!


After the stumps were out of the ground, the guys removed as much dirt from the stumps with picks and shovels.

We'll still have to get some dirt to fill in the divets, but it's not too bad. This couldn't have been done at a better time! The "lawn" was in perfect condition to be completely destroyed by tree roots.




We got rid of some other dead trees and smaller stumps. We're so grateful for all the help we received! We have the most awesome neighbors ever! Our yard is looking better and better. Plus, now we have a collection of firewood started!

We were on a roll with the yard work. Did a little watering of trees and flowers. I don't know what I'm doing with my flower beds yet.... I love that I have random tulips all over though. They are one of my favorite flowers! I can't wait for them to bloom!

Ian standing next to his hard work!

Glad the city is coming to pick it all up! We timed it perfect!

We are quickly realizing we have no yard gear. We knew we didn't have the obvious lawn mower. But you don't really think about rakes, shovels, sprinklers, etc. So we had fun shopping at home depot!



I got a lot done inside the house too. It was a very productive day for us! I didn't think it was fair for Ian to be working so hard outside and me not be doing anything. Plus, I had fun taking pictures and talking with the neighbors wife. Totally loved holding their new little baby!

Lawn Preparations

Our lawn had a sad life the last couple of years. When we were looking at the house last July/August it was so sad to see the lawn completely fried, knowing we couldn't water it or anything. Our lawn was the first to green up this year. It was 1-2 weeks ahead of everyone elses. Probably because it was so deprived last year!

We debated re-seeding last year then decided to see what happened this spring. We weren't going to, but it was just so patchy everywhere. Poor lawn was balding!

So Dad came with the 4-wheeler and harrow and loosened everything up then smoothed it all out. There was a major mound out by these stumps that him and Ian leveled out. It looks so good!

Next we'll kill everything still existing and re-seed. I'm excited and hope it works out good. I can't wait for a nice lawn of my own!