yardwork

yardwork

Yard work, just a little yard work…

Posted on June 14, 2010 by wadmanclan

We have spent the entire weekend outside so I could do more yard work.

We started things off in the front yard and I brought out the bubble machine for the kids to play with. They played fine while I mowed but started to get tired of being in the front yard while I was still pruning bushes. I wish I had gotten pictures. Solvei decided (how come it’s always her?) to sit down next to the bubble machine so she could get the bubbles right away. Sitting-next-to turned into sitting-with-the-machine-between-my-legs which became sitting-with-the-machine-in-my-lap which resulted in Solvei sitting in a puddle of bubbles, wet from her waist to her toes (even her socks were wet inside her shoes). So when I was done pruning, the twins got a bath before lunch.

We did find a little visitor on the outside of our garage that fascinated the kids.

I spent all of nap time, most of the evening, and the better part the next day weeding and pruning the irises. It was A LOT of work. The haven’t been thinned out in who knows how long and are very over grown with grass so they are starting to get root rot from not having enough drainage (the internet helps me learn these things).

Before and After

I have come to the conclusion that, based on the condition of the plants and bushes in my yard, and the amount of work I’ve done so far, this yard/landscaping has not been properly maintained in 4-5 years. There is still so much to do……I hate yard work and I am so not a gardener. At least with the irises, I know what they are and can look up how to take care of them. We have a handful of other plants that I have no idea what they are and so I don’t know what to do with them. If anyone can tell me I would be much obliged.

My mystery plants are:
Exhibit a)

Exhibit b)

Exhibit c) –This one is a bush with these flowers, you can kind of see the leaves in the photo

Exhibit d) –This one I think is some kind of garlic, but not sure what

close up of flowers

Exhibit e) –This one I’ve seen growing wild on the side of the roads here so I’m not sure if it was planted on purpose or just showed up.

Categories: flowers, Solvei, yardwork | Leave a comment

"SIDEWALK" chalk

Posted on June 6, 2010 by wadmanclan

I needed to do a little yard work this weekend, to make it look like we do actually live here. I have mostly been working inside the house (unpacking and keeping up with dishes and laundry) since we have moved in. Nate has kept the lawn mowed, but we haven’t really done much else and the flower beds and shrubs are starting to show it. I brought the kids outside to play while I was working, so when I was done mowing the front I got out the sidewalk chalk for the kids to play with while I weeded the front flower beds.

It ended up being a lot more work than I thought so we were out there a while (good thing I sprayed everyone down with sun-screen when we went out). The kids got bored with the chalk before I was done with the work so they started to get creative with their drawing surfaces. (It may be called sidewalk chalk, but that’s not where they like to color with it.)

Nels started coloring on the front stoop,

Nels and Solvei colored their clothes and faces,

Solvei got her rear-end especially well,

and then they both colored on the house and the front door!

GOOD THING CHALK WASHES OFF!

After I got all the front work done and the chalk put away, I had to dump everyone into the bath before I could make lunch.

We ended up spending most of the day outside. After everyone got bathed and had lunch, I put the kids down for a nap and went back outside to mow the backyard and start weeding the iris beds in the back. I got quite a bit done before everyone woke up so when they did I brought them all back outside while I did a little more before dinner.

While we were out there we found a ladybug with no spots. Saedi said that made it zero years old.