Mother's Day Weekend

What a GORGEOUS weekend this was!  It really felt like the payoff for having gotten through everything from the previous week.

After we got home from Bill & Patti's, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, then decided to take advantage of the pleasant weather and get started on some yard work.  DH edged and mowed, but prior to that, we decided to begin Phase 1 of Backyard Renovation 2010.  DH has decided Grass is Evil, and thus, must be eliminated.  And in the backyard, I'm fine with that, cuz I'm getting more gardens out of it :)  We'll be taking out grass and replacing with beds, a path, more NW native plants (the low maintenance kind), a fire pit, an arbor swing...oh, the plans we have!  But the journey of a thousand miles begins with...a can of spray paint.  To outline where the plan will begin.  Here is the outline of the first bed, for veggies.  This actually needed to be first, as planting time is almost upon us, and I want the bed ready for seedlings and seeds by month end.

After outlining, then edging around the outline for me, DH headed to the front yard to mow and do other general maintenance projects.

Here is the result of how I spent the rest of Saturday, from about 2:30-5pm:

My souvenir for the day was a bruised and swollen instep on my right foot from wearing the wrong boots in which to jump on a shovel, which as you may be able to guess, I did a lot of.  The goal was to just get the sod lifted in prep for removal the next day.  After a quick shower, I ran over to neighbor Linda's place to check in on her sweet lil kitty Miss DeeDee ~ checked vittles, cleaned litter box and hung out with her for about 30 mins getting lots of cuddles, and giving lots of pets and scratches -- such a sweet furball!

And here is how Sunday went on my end, from 9am to about 4pm, with plenty of breaks because it was hot in that sun, and those chunks of sod are HEAVY.  I'd pull one up, shake off excess dirt, then toss in the wheel barrow to roll to the bank and toss over the side.

(PS-note the little brick wall and step...I will refer back to them)

Right about here is where I experience true bonding with the yard.  A few pictures up you see the step and the brick wall, yes?  Well, I'd just put the camera back in the house after taking this picture, it was the end of the day and I was tired and not paying very good attention.  I attempted to navigate the ONE step down to the lower yard.  Colossal Fail.  Misstepped and took a header from one level to the next, at least having the sense to not use my hands or arms to brace the fall.  But my left shin took a beating from the corner of the step.  Landed on the grass and rolled onto the dirt on my back, propped my leg on the wall (Elevate!) to assess the damage and tried not to pass out.  Hollered for DH, who was blissfully unaware in the front yard, battling ivy with the Red Hot Chili Peppers blasting away. 

When it became apparent after about 10 minutes that I was on my own, I thought, this is ridiculous, what would Laura Ingalls Wilder do? (I've just finished a manic read through all the Little House books and a book of her column writings for the Mansfield, MO newspaper she wrote for in the early 1900s, so I'm all empowered now!)  I got up, hobbled into the house, found the first aid kit, cleaned up my bleeding leg, slapped on a couple band-aids, and went back to finish the project.  DH was very impressed with my stick-to-it-ive-ness.

And....Voila!  Finished Product!

DH will build a border around the edge, and I'll start filling it with veggie goodness in a couple weeks.

While I was taking the backyard by storm, DH was fighting his own battles out front...

For point of reference, between the two cross posts is our raspberry bed, and his power tools are resting on the raised veggie bed in that garden area.  That big green mass that looks like a bush at the far end of the raspberry bed is actually ivy that had taken over the wall and post, which can be seen more clearly below.  The ivy had also taken over the brick wall between us and our neighbors, invading his hedge row.  Insidious stuff, that.  DH rescued several clematis, which won't be blooming this year, but at least won't be suffocated by the invasive ivy.  Saturday for DH was Power Tools Against The Vines day.  He also took out some blackberries that were very close to leaping the gap from the bush on the other fence line it had taken over to the house.

What a difference a day makes, no?  This is just after we'd hauled out all the defeated ivy and DH was using the blower to clean up all the loose leaves and detritus.  We called it a day around 4:30, he logged on to do some stuff for work, and I iced and elevated my wounded black & blue leg on the couch.

All in all, a VERY satisfying weekend :)