It’ll Have to Do . . .

Time was flying by for me but probably not for Allie.  It was the last day before she chose to fly off to Utah a day early (to hang out with friends as well as a missionary can).  So we filled our day with . . .
yard work . . .

some puppy lovin’

a last meal at the restaurant of her choice

being set apart . . .

and packing.

It was a hard day, if you want my opinion.  The wait was nearly over.

All Work . . . .

It was wonderful to have Allie home.  I am not a big fan of weeding, but I am a big fan of the results.  Typically the job falls on me and no one ever helps.
But because Allie was home and didn’t have anything better to do . . .

We spent a couple of afternoons cleaning up the weeds near the front door (the entire yard looked REALLY bad before we started.)

It was wonderful having a much neater yard AND spending time with my daughter.
As a reward, I cooked/baked the things she hoped for . . .

and Paul took us out to play!

Life is never dull when Allie’s around. . . no matter what she claims.

The Haunting Trees

We planted some lovely aspens when we were landscaping our yard.  They have slowly been dying off much to our chagrin.
And we planted some other trees.  They have been haunting us ever since.
Last year, we chopped them down . . .see here
We thought that would take care of that. . .

*sigh*

If only the trees we wanted did half as well!

When Chopping Down One Tree Doesn’t Work. . . .

We mistakenly thought that chopping down some trees in the front yard would take care of the runners popping up in the lawn.  I think we knew it almost as soon as the trees were down. . . we were wrong.  It was a sad day.
Let’s back up.  Years ago, I picked up some cuttings off a friends tree.  (We wanted TREES in our new yard!)  We planted this sticks in the front yard and they started growing quickly.  We soon realized that they were going to be too big for the front yard areas we had set aside for trees.
So we dug them up as best we could and replanted them in the back yard.  Oh to have shade on hot summer days!
These trees were GREAT!  They grew fast and created a respite from the summer heat.  I loved hearing the rustle of the leaves on windy days.  If you can’t have the sound of the ocean at hand, the sound of leaves quaking in the wind is an acceptable alternative.
But . . . there started to be offshoots that we’d try to cut back.  And then all the little trees that popped up in the nearby lawn.  And then they traveled to the front lawn.  *sigh*  It was time for them to go.
The question became how do we do this?  These giants were on a hillside without much room to maneuver.  I checked around on the internet.  The answer was copper nails.  When I went to the store to hunt some down, I provided untold amusement to the fellow I asked for directions.  He gave me different advice.
Paul ignored it all and did his own thing!  The things that man can do with a table saw and a dull ax are amazing!


only a few broken fence boards. .


One down, one to go. . .

Now all that is left is to kill the stumps, handle the spouts that are still around, harvest the wood and figure out what we are going to do with our landscape.
I miss these trees.
Trees
By Joyce Kilmer
I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
"Trees" was originally published in Trees and Other Poems. Joyce Kilmer. New York: George H. Doran Company, 1914.

Tree Toppling

Because we are so SMART and knowledgeable, we decided to cut down a few aspen trees in our front yard.  We had been getting mini trees sprouting in our front lawn and KNEW this would take care of it.


My men came up with a plan and set to work.
And down they went. . .

But the finishing work still needed to be done.

We even had helpers show up!

HOWEVER, we immediately regretted removing these beauties from our yard.  And we have since determined that the sprouts weren’t coming from these trees after all.
See how smart we are?