Saturday, September 16, 2017

Mulching 2017

We've been partially neglecting our yard since last year.

I say "partially" because the grass does get mowed by a neighbor, same neighbor also trims the front shrubs a couple of times per season. He does not trim the bushes in the back yard, unfortunately.

Our backyard had vines creeping in from next door, thorny bushes growing in tight spaces and several weed trees ("Tree of Heaven") have rooted and grown into trees with trunks several inches in diameter, we decided to get the place professionally cleaned and landscaped.

I am a bit disappointed with myself that I didn't get "before"pictures.

But here is a picture the day after did the cleanup.

I've asked them to remove the perennials I planted in the area around the lamp post. When I planted them years ago, the idea was to attract butterflies but all they attracted were bees.

Today, we spent the better half of the afternoon in our front yard.

We replaced the edging material in front - the original edging was already broken and torn in several places so we dug it up and installed a new one.

We also installed red mulch - 9 bags all in all (each bag has 2 cu ft.)

Now, hubby and I have both showered the dirt off and are resting. I have to note that the mosquitoes have also feasted on us so we're full of bites as well.

We've run out of mulch so we didn't get to do the backyard today.  Hopefully, our old bones will still be up for it yesterday.

This is hard work.

The only person who is happy with today's activity is Swe-cha, he got to ride his Razor up and down the driveway and sidewalk while we were working.

Friday, September 15, 2017

What is that Cloud ?

These days, Swe-cha has been showing a lot of curiosity.

If he sees something unfamiliar, he would ask "What is that ?" followed by "What is it used for ?".

So far, he's asked these questions about:
- my fins (used for diving), his response was "let's go race in the water!"
- my BCD (used for diving)
- the fish tank thermometer

Last night, I decided to grill some steaks for dinner. I fired up the grill, threw 2 steaks on it and then forgot. I didn't remember until Swe-cha points to the library / family room and asks "Mommy, what is that cloud ?"

Sure enough, smoke had come in through the door I had left open and it was collecting and hanging like a cloud.

I quickly rescued the steaks and they were still edible, despite being slightly charred on the edges and being very well done.