Working Hard

The month of March really flew by for us. Along with work and school, we have been getting some landscaping done. We drastically underestimated the amount of property that would be dug up for our new septic system to go in. Luckily, with some connections, we found a semi-retired guy who has been doing some heavy equipment work for us. He has done some amazing work with the piles and piles of boulders the septic guys displaced.

The big rock work has created enough smaller jobs to keep us busy. One thing that Greg wanted was a bit more privacy from the neighbor's goats. So, with help, we created "the berm." This is really just a build-up of rock and dirt that we have since planted a variety of perennials in that will hopefully grow in to create a wonderful view on that side of the yard. We've planted bamboo, rhododendrons, lilacs, and hydrangeas, among other things. It was Debbie's idea to also transplant some of the native ferns on our property. So far we are pleased with how it's coming together and we're crossing our fingers that none (or not too many) of the plants die. On a whim one weekend we rented a pressure washer to use on some of our new rock walls. It took up a good chunk of the day and Greg and Debbie were pretty filthy and tired by the end. That effort didn't make too much of a difference on the walls but we got some build-up off the chimney and around the house.

The backside of our property slopes down quite a bit and half of it was dug up to create the drain field. This left the other half looking lost and confused. We had our heavy equipment guy spend some time back there generally tidying up while also making it more possible to get the riding mower around which was something that was not possible last year. The only issue now is the number of smaller rocks that need to be picked up and dirt to be smoothed before we can spread grass seed. Hopefully, we can finish the backyard before it is taken over by weeds and other vegetation.

Finally, we've been working a bit on our vegetable garden. We planted onions and garlic back in November not really knowing how it would turn out. Things were not looking too promising a few weeks ago when the little they had grown had started turning yellow and leaning over. But with a little bit of sunshine and rain, they have come back to life and are looking quite promising now. We also planted a few of the starts that seemed big enough to transplant. Debbie spent some time hardening off one tray of lettuce and Brussel sprouts. On a whim, Greg decided to plant a tray of cabbage, broccoli, and pumpkin, without hardening them. To our dismay, we woke up the next morning with snow on the grown. Even though it was gone by mid-afternoon we were sure our newly planted veggies were goners. Debbie is happy to report that the lettuce and Brussel sprouts look like they are doing quite well. Greg can't say the same about the broccoli and cabbage.