The Yard

Sorry it has been a while since I posted anything. We had one fairly uneventful week and then Amelia and I were gone for a few days. But as always we have been busy outside! The last week of July I finally got my vegetable garden planted in the backyard. I know it is just a bit late to plant vegetables but maybe, just maybe, I'll get something from them before the end of the season. I got a little ambitious and bought way too much for the small space I have. I planted watermelon, crookneck squash, zucchini, two kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, pumpkins and bell peppers. Hopefully later in the season I can show you a picture of how much they've all grown.


Our other yard item last week was our first grass-cutting. This is probably not exciting to most people but not only is this the first lawnmower we've owned but it is also the first time we have lived anywhere with grass to mow. We spent most of last Monday afternoon lawnmower shopping around Farmington. Amelia was not having a lot of fun and a huge thunderstorm moved in just before we were finished. Then when we got home Sadie was a muddy mess because the storm had freaked her out. Luckily, Tuesday was a pretty day and we finally had the smell of fresh-cut grass in our own backyard. Yeah!

We have grass!

On Tuesday, we got up early (like 6:30am & this is our weekend), drove into Farmington to pick up a flatbed trailer and then drove up to Durango to pick up our sod. Our friends, Nate & Erin, from Durango came down to help us with the process and we are so thankful for their help. It was after 1:00pm by the time Rod & Nate started putting the grass down and they finished it all by about 7:30pm. The tricky part was our truck could only haul about half of the sod we needed. (Altogether it was about 7500 lbs. of grass.) So as they began to lay the first load, Erin stayed with Amelia and I drove our truck pulling a 16 foot trailer back up to Durango for the second load. I remember when we first got the truck (a Ford F-150) I was nervous to drive it because it was "so big". Now I'm pulling trailers.

Well, needless to say the whole family is already loving the grass. Rod & I love how it makes the backyard look and it makes it a lot cooler. Amelia loves to sit in the grass and play with the sprinklers. Sadie is just happy to have a comfortable place to lay and roll around. As a bonus, there was some leftover rolls when the backyard was finished so the front yard now has a little bit of grass. Our neighbors are probably wondering why there is only a small patch in the front when we still have open trenches. But that's a project for another week(s). Hope everyone had a good 4th!

Digging Trenches

Since Rod's days off are Monday & Tuesday, we spent the last two days working in the backyard evening and cleaning out the trenches we dug last week. We now have all the pipes, connectors and sprinklers we will need for the back. We have already ordered the sod and are planning to put it in next week. It will be so nice to finally have grass. Both Amelia and Sadie won't know what to do without having a yard full of dirt.

I sure am tired though. It was about 95 degrees both days and my shoulders are killing me from all the digging. I can't believe that we thought at first that we could dig all the trenches by hand. Hint to anyone putting in a sprinkler system: Rent a trencher! Whatever the cost is - it's worth the money. Amelia is such a trooper through it all. She is happy with a bucket of water and is constantly trying to "brush" Sadie. She gets herself soaking wet and full of dirt so a bath is must when we come in. I will post another picture next week when the sod's in!