Wildlife Spotting

So the other day I was puttering around in my room, and I heard Megan shut the back door. A few minutes later she let out this absolute scream. Horrible thoughts rushed through my mind as I hurried outside to see what in the world was going on. "Mom, there's a TURTLE in our pond!" she said. Now, we've had ducks many times, and a lot of snakes, too, but this was our first turtle. He/she was trying to hide, but I spied him out, and it looks like it is a red eared slider turtle -- not originally native to Utah, but now found here due to release of pets. Our turtle may move on at some point, but for now...we have a turtle.

A Glimpse into the Backyard

This is one of my favorite views in the morning!

Morning Garden Walk

Here are a few pictures from my early morning walk around the garden.

The vegetable patch

Zinnias doing their best to brighten my day

A view of my left-hand front garden

The pond

Why add this little drab photo? Well, this is the back of the shed that no one really sees, but I'm using it as a little utility area and place to park the green waste garbage can. I'm just happy with how it turned out.

Lose a Trampoline, Gain a Shed!

Mark bought himself a new car, a Mazda 6. The one you see pictured here looks exactly like the one he bought. He's pretty proud of it. He loves to research buys, so I think he ended up getting just the car he wants. The main criteria for the new car was sporty looks (yes, this is true), good gas mileage, and room for three to sit comfortably in the back. Everyone in the family gave this the thumbs up. We've already all driven in it as a family, and there was a lot less fighting with the extra three inches between each person. It's a modern miracle!
Of course, in order to park the car in our garage, we had to get a shed. So, I've spent a while (with help from everyone) preparing the site of our old trampoline for a new shed. This did involve laying pavers as well--but I'm an old pro after last year's mammoth paver laying project. Here is the new shed below. These are not the right doors (they are only 5' 10" tall!), but they will be bringing out the correct doors on Tuesday.

As you can see, there was just enough room to squeeze it in the spot--there is only 6 inches between the southwest corner and the back of the fence (Oh, the joys of an odd-shaped lot)! We choose this funky saltbox style so Mark would have a lot of headroom--the other choices either don't have as high a roof or are too tall. We also picked a very light color to keep the heat down--we didn't even try to match our house except for the gray colors.

Some of the new paving I (and Mike) have put it. This part is all finished except for putting gravel in the sprinkler area that I couldn't cover over.

This is along the side -- still a little work to do here. And the whole thing needs sand swept in. I put this fifty inch walkway here so that the shed wouldn't shade my garden too much (the shed is on the South side).

When Rosebushes Attack

So--a few years ago I had a little run-in with a pine tree that ended with a late night trip to the emergency room. I poked my eye and scratched it--my does that hurt. I couldn't open either eye. You think I would have learned my lesson, but this past week I did it again. I was pruning back a big unruly rose bush and I let a branch go SPRONG and smack me in the eye. This time I was intelligent and went to the ophthalmologist immediately to get an antibiotic and numbing drops.

When Bumblebees Attack . . .

So today I got up at 5:30 AM and thought I would move the rest of the compost pile. I'm getting so close to being done out there!!!

Anyway, as I sunk my shovel into the back of the compost, a good size swarm of bumblebees rose up out of the pile. Apparently they had made some kind of hive/nest in it. There were lots of big bumblebees and even little ones who couldn't fly and just lay on the ground making a buzzzz noise. Of course they went straight for me, so I was running and swinging the shovel like crazy. After a bit they settled down, and I went back for a few more shovelfuls until they ran me off again. It continued like that until I took a break at 8:00 to run. Poor little bumblebees.

Vegetables at Last!

I finally got my garden going after a whole year of looking bleagh. Here are a few shots:

Tomatoes - Cherry and Slicing

The tomato marker I repainted - looks good!

Green Beans - Yum

Update on the Paving Project

Well, I'm very close to being done with this little project. It is looking pretty good, if you ask me. I get up every morning at about 6:30 and work on it after I run until it gets too hot.

Getting closer to the finish line!

All of these corners make for some tricky paver laying

The old stepping stones moved down by the trampoline

Part of this project involves moving three large compost bins

The last part to go

Sand, sand, and more sand

Quirky Garden Art

I am a sucker for garden art. I add some every year. This year I painted the eggs blue. Heehee.

The Weedy Side of Things

Two years ago I had foot surgery right after school got out and spent the summer in the house on crutches.
Last year I spent much of the summer attending the Central Utah Writing Project.
So this year, I have...WEEDS. Lots of them. I have been slowly working to take them out, but it's a big job.

Weedy Grass in the Front Garden

Projects

Well, the big project this year is paving the garden paths:

Yes, it really has looked like this for a year.

As you can see, this is a pretty messy and ugly project while it is going on. We actually dug up all of this last year to lay in the sprinkler lines, and it was a muddy, weedy mess all summer.

Pots, 2010

To start with, here are my big pots by the front entryway, all newly potted up. I think they turned out especially nice this year.

These are some other pots from around the yard. I mostly have perennials and bushes growing in them.

June 2010 in the Garden

I seem to take the same garden pics over and over again - but they're so beautiful!!! Here are some shots from early June and late June:

The Lady Fountain - Early June

The Herbalist English Rose - Early June - This is by far the most this rose has ever bloomed.

The Clematis Arch and Bench - Early June

The Lawn Path, North - Early June

The Maple Tree - Early June (If you look at the ground, you can see the rejected branches from where I just limbed up the maple by about three feet.)

The Pond - Early June

The Dogwood that Ate the Bench - Early June

Pink Peace Rose with Picasso Petunia - Early June

Ballerina and Rosy Friends - Early June

Ballerina and Rosy Frieds - Late June

The Spot Where Nothing Grows - Early June - While everything else is approaching jungle proportions, this little area insists on underwhelming.

The Flamingo - Early June

The Lawn Path, South - Early June

The Lawn Path and Flamingo, South - Late June

Betty Boop Rose - Early June