Eviction Notice

To the snake in my back yard:

I realize that you have been hanging around for at least a week now. I know because we have seen more and more of each other lately. Apparently you didn't believe me the other day when I told you could stay as long as I didn't see you. I thought maybe we could make this work when you slithered off into the crack in the wood. And then two days ago you were in the flowers near the tree when I was trying to work on the sprinklers - I told you that you needed to move but you wouldn't budge. I tossed a rock at you and you just stuck your tongue out at me. You finally slithered off and I was able to get my work done. But today! Today was the last straw. I was trying to find and fix a leak somewhere in the stream. I looked around and didn't see you so I set to work. Imagine my surprise when I lifted a rock and there you were. (The neighbors didn't have to imagine it - they heard it.) And there you sat, and sat and sat and sat (or whatever it is that snakes do). I realize my fear of snakes is probably irrational, many people like to have snakes in their yard to eat stuff... or some other good reason I just don't understand. So go live there! Because of your stubbornness I am forced to contact my relocation services and evict you. Effective immediately.

thank you,
The management

PS Your family members that have now shown themselves will be soon be joining you.

Mr. Rogers was right...

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood.

Autumn

There's no mistaking that Autumn is in full swing,
Ok, maybe it's really coming to an end.
Bags stuffed full of bright yellow leaves sit at the curb waiting to be hauled away.
Some trees are bare while others cling to their changing leaves like I do to summer and fall.
Soon most of the trees will be bare and before we realize it, it will seem to be the norm... naked branches. Before long they will be coated with snow and the bright blue sky will provide a background. Then Spring will remind us once again of how beautiful the trees look decked out in beautiful colors followed by a gown of green.

Even now green leaves are becoming a memory. Sometimes fall is sudden and abrupt. It seems to turn cold with a vengeance and leaves change color and fall in a short period of time and unless we are vigilant we miss it. Then warm days sneak in now and again reminding us that there is hope... all is not cold... yet.

Not this year. This year fall has been gradual... and exquisitely beautiful. For the first time in a long time... maybe ever... I have taken time to really enjoy the change in colors.
I will admit that I have been waiting for a warm day to sneak in
but so far we haven't really had any.
Just cool, cooler and now cold.
The heater runs and the wind blows.
Snow flurries floated by for two days but did not stick.
Time to crunch the leaves and marvel at the intensity of the color as the late afternoon sun brightens them.

Still, as the leaves are gathered and hauled away and the frost causes tender plants to become transparent and wilt, I begin to feel a bit melancholy. No more lazy summer days (I'm not sure how many of those I actually had but at least they were an option). No more warm sunny days beckoning me to lounge in the back yard barefoot by the stream.

Time to gear up.
Time to pull out cozy sweaters, coats, scarves, boots and mittens.
Time to brace against arctic gusts when I open the door and step outside. Time to jump into preparations to try to make hectic holidays less hectic. Time spent indoors watching the snow fly, getting up early to clear snow from the driveway before cars venture out. Time to pull out the cozy blankets and curl up on the couch with a good book. Time to build snowmen and go skiing. Change is hard but good. Maybe I wouldn't appreciate the summer as much without the winter...

And I guess when things get unbearable we can always go to St. George!

The Secret Formula

We were in enjoying a beautiful evening the back yard with some friends when someone asked Mark how we got such great vegetable plants. He quickly explained how we tilled compost in below the ground level ...

then built up the boxes and tilled in more compost, more soil and still more compost.

They seemed unconvinced so he explained how we put in a drip system and hooked it up to the sprinkler timer so it would get the right amount of water on a regular basis.

As Mark was explaining, another friend came up and said,
"Karen just has a green thumb".
The person was instantly satisfied and that was the end of the conversation.

I have thought about that a lot lately.

The answer they were looking for was some
quick fix secret formula.
The real secret formula they needed to make their garden grow
involved a lot of hard work.

The funny thing is that the hard work is not permanent.
We do not have to go back and recreate the boxes each year to get a great garden.
While we do have some routine maintenance,
like tilling the boxes each spring and periodically adding compost,
the amount of work required on a regular basis is quite small.
It's small now because of the past work we did.

Really, it's the same with weight loss
or an education or anything...

...maybe it's even true about getting organized.
Too much looking for the perfect system
and not enough making it work...

Backyard Project reflections

PREFACE: The cost of this backyard project, besides the obvious cost of the materials, was a lot of time, energy, sweat, tears, some hurt feelings, a lot of self examination and even a little bit of blood. Definitely lots of scratches, bruises and sore muscles. Many compromises, changes in plans and so much help from so many... often without being asked or requesting anything in return.
(OK, maybe they were just sick of looking at the s*l*o*w*l*y shrinking pile of rocks in the street)

THE STORY: When we originally drew up our plans of the back yard, I had illusions of grandeur. I could see our whole family working together every day for a few weeks, bonding as we worked side by side, and then sitting back to enjoy it the rest of the summer.
Go ahead and laugh... I now do too when I think about it.

Yes... I forgot that my husband has a job,
and my kids didn't have the same plans on how to spend their summer.

Also as we began to move forward the "dry" stream bed became less dry and - well, things multiplied.

While I had researched how to make a working stream and found great information on the internet (ie. "How to make a backyard stream in just two weekends") I didn't factor in a lot of the other projects that would be in progress at the same time, as well as the previous sweat (obviously not shed by me) that made things - such as our garden box - so awesome. And now I was constructing three plus garden boxes...

But I soon learned... and also understood with exquisite detail why my dear husband (who is the one put the sweat into the one we currently had) was not as excited as I was about creating so many more.

I also learned that when there is something I really want I tend to minimize other peoples warnings and feelings in favor of what I want. During the hours that I dug below the ground level of these boxes in order to till in freshly hauled in compost so that we could again have 5+ foot high tomato plants and a bounty of tomatoes; I thought a lot about counting the costs before beginning a project as well as my headstrong ways.

The original plan for the stream was for it to be about 15 feet long and end here -
kind of in the middle of the yard. (Already longer than the one that we were supposed to be able to complete in two weekends - not counting the little side stream at the top).
But the boys suggested - and were quite correct - that it looking funny ending where it did. It really needed to continue to the corner of the house - which it now does.

It looks awesome - and yes it did take more than two weekends.
You would think I would have learned from my "potty training in less than a day" experience.

See the awesome grasses above? - Mark's suggestion
We get a lot of compliments on those.

I finally started to really listen - not just give lip service to what others were saying before moving forward and doing what I wanted. That's when a funny thing started to happen. It no longer was "my" project but more of the family project that we had envisioned all along.

Little details worked out better than planned.

The top of the stream is almost always in the shade and plants that bloom in the shade are hard to come by - but now we have an awesome perennial shade garden with some flowers, but an amazing array of color and texture in the foliage itself that's there month after month.

I had planned in my mind to have one very large boulder here to create a sheer face...
but after unsuccessfully working with the rock company my boulder never materialized so I improvised, and in all honesty I think this came out better. A taller and more sheer face than I probably could have gotten from one large rock and the color and fit of these rocks was amazing. They also created nooks and crannies for the plants to spill over.
Sometimes we don't get what we want but if we are open to the possibilities it often turns out better than we originally planned.

SUMMARY:
I love that when we open our bedroom windows at night I can hear the sound of water from the stream.
I didn't expect that.

I love that this is what I see from my kitchen window.
Life may require time, effort and hard work but in the end it will be worth it.
Doubt not but be believing... Mormon 9:27

I love that we eat outside as often as possible, fully enjoying family and friends and the beautiful summer evenings.
I love that we see all kinds of birds enjoying the stream including a father quail and his nine babies.
I love that our backyard is no longer "my" project but an example of synergy - where the interaction or cooperation of two or more produced a combined effect greater than the sum of the individual parts.
I love that we look for opportunities to spend time together here -
Which was what this was all about in the first place.

The cost of this project was high but the value of this whole experience and what we have to show for it is priceless.

Back Yard - DONE!

This was supposed to post tomorrow but alas I pushed the wrong button so here you go.
The back yard as viewed from the house. I realize many of the "before" pictures were taken in early spring so it's not a completely fair comparison but... well... you get the picture.

Looking out the window from the eating area.
To the right

Looking straight out

Notice the lack of a line in the middle of the window?
Thanks goes to my wonderful hubby who suggested we put a picture window in the eating area. It's awesome!

Looking to the left...

Part way into the project

In the yard looking West

Looking forward to more "fruits" of our labors

My friend the Robin is still hanging around.

I'll post about of my favorite parts next
but I better get dinner going.

Lost?

This past week I have spent a lot of time working in the yard.
The weather has been glorious, birds all about and I have really enjoyed myself.
(I must admit though that I have been filled with joyful anticipation for hours spent reading in the yard rather than working on the yard)
The stream is up and running and Jenn helped me get the drip system put in for the plants growing around it.

The vegetables are planted complete with their own drip system.
We had a friend who has worked on our sprinklers in the past come and connect the drip system to the main system and get things adjusted so that we will be ready to have our patio poured this coming week.
I'm not sure if he was in a rush or what but he left a lot of things in need of gluing and adjusting. I ended up spending much of my Friday in the yard again.

That's when it happened.

Late Friday afternoon I discovered my wedding ring was missing.
I was horrified. I knew I had lost it in the last 90 minutes.
I had only been in the yard and at the sprinkler store.
I called the sprinkler store and they were closed.
I called back a second time and they answered.
I told them my dilemma and they said they would keep and eye out for it.
I drove down there anyway and looked around in the parking lot.
They saw me and let me look through the store.
No ring.
I went home and swept every sweepable surface and retraced my steps but I had literally been all over the yard in that time fussing with so many sprinklers.

I prayed. I felt a great reassuring calm
but looking outside the task seemed overwhelming.
Grass, rocks, stream, bushes, mulch... and my ring was most likely out there.
It was getting dark and I knew today's search had ended.
Mark came home from a bike ride and I burst into tears.
He put his arms around me and reassured me that it was just a ring.
It was replaceable.
I was comforted by his love.

Saturday I rented a metal detector to search the yard.
Christian used the metal detector first.
It beeped a lot going over the grass and we couldn't figure out why it was beeping, there was nothing there. Just to be safe I crawled on my hands and knees checking the blades of grass on a four foot wide path between the rocks and the garage.
No ring.
He went over the main path on the rocks while I searched (again) through some of the mulch around sprinklers we had been adjusting.
No ring.
I took over the metal detector and went over the grass that will soon be a patio.
No ring.
I searched through the rocks in a part of the stream I had been jumping over and still...
No ring.
I searched all the rock paths between the vegetable gardens.
No ring.
All this time I had been having a conversation with my Father in Heaven.
I knew that this was just an object.
My relationships were still in tact with or without it.
I did not need it to be happy.
BUT
It meant something to me.
It had the diamond Mark gave me when we got engaged.
It was a gift of love that was a representation of our relationship.
It seemed a part of me.
The more I looked the more I wondered if I would find it.
The yard was so big with so many hiding places for a small ring.
Steps here and there pushing it down in the rocks or into the soft earth in the grass
really.... what were the chances of finding it on my own?
very small

BUT
I knew that with divine help I might have a chance
Heavenly Father knew where it was He could help me find it.
but then again
maybe this was a lesson I needed to learn about the lack of importance of material things. I didn't need a diamond ring to feel secure in my relationships.
I just kept searching determined to keep looking till dark, forming plans of what to search next.

As these thoughts were going through my mind my eyes were a few inches ahead of the metal detector when I spotted it.
Jennifer was there with me. I think I gasped and dropped to the ground.
I think I blinked, I had imagined so many times what it would look like lying there in the grass or mulch or rocks... I was almost afraid to believe it.

But there it was.
I know many would say that it was luck or diligence on my part.
But I know better.
I know what I felt.
The ideas that formulated in my mind were not entirely my own.
Father in Heaven will not always give us what we want but
in this case he blessed me with my desire.
It took a lot of faith and work in my part but I felt His
guidance, direction and reassuring calm that whatever happened
it would be OK. I was in His hands.
He really does care about the little things.
He is mindful of the details for each of us.


(can you find the ring in the fourth picture?)

My little friend

As I began working in the backyard this past spring I noticed a Robin. He (or she) always kept his distance but was always there. As I would move from one part of the yard to the other he would hop up on the fence and then back to the ground on the other side. I was eating my lunch after tilling and I noticed him plucking juicy worms from the freshly turned soil. He would often take baths in the puddle the sprinklers made in the grass. Soon he was joined by another Robin and four babies. We watched them grow and try their wings jumping off rocks to the ground below. As they grew their brown chests begin to fill in with red feathers. When the stream began to run they would splash and play in the water, chasing away the smaller birds but running quickly when the magpies came around. I chased away the magpies and a stray cat that came around for a while. I watch my robin almost every day. He always sits in the same place in the stream by the red island rock that the kids love too. He often fluffs out his feathers and just sits in the water as if he is hatching some invisible egg - maybe it really is a she. During many long hours of work this summer I lamented about what I had gotten myself into but I was never alone. I kept at it and the robin was always nearby, much like our Father in Heaven.

Flashback Friday: The last two weeks

Ok, I'm not flashing back very far but trying to get caught up.

Last week we were preparing to leave for Lotoja. If you remember, Mark had the fastest time last year setting a new course record. If you want to see it for yourself click here . It was pretty amazing. 206 miles in 9 hours 6 minutes. With as many people riding in a race that long it was like lightening striking - everything just came together. This year there was no way they were going to let Mark get off the front. The masters 45 category finished in a group and it was a sprint to the finish. Mark got kind of boxed in but still got third - awesome finish! This time it took about 9 hours and 45 minutes. Proof that 2 people willing to work together are more effiecient than 16 people who are not willing to work together. Click here for some awesome pictures. Aaron and Celisa joined us and Amy, Jordan and Ruby were planning to come but Ruby got sick at the last minute.

School started for me and I hit the ground running. I would have pitures of me on my first day of school but... well you know - I've been going so long that no one really cares :) and besides that - I really hate looking at pictures of myself - which leads me to another new thing - I joined Weight Watchers. I finally took the plunge. I'm down five pounds and really excited - something is finally working. I debated about making this public knowledge but now that you know it means I'm really committed.

Yesterday we held that annual Jr. Core social which means we hosted 30 people in our back yard for dinner. No I didn't cook but I did get the backyard 97% finished! (this year's phase anyway)... well except for the drip system, and I can't figure out how to finish off the last corner - ANYWAY I won't rain on my parade! I have to say that while it was way more work than I imagined, it also turned out better than I imagined. Come and check it out! Here are some pictures for those of you who live further away:

I'll post more pictures later, I'm having a hard time getting them to download and I need to do some homework.

The Grass is always Greener...

Than..... well....dirt.

We put in sod yesterday and it looks pretty good.
Still some areas to fix up but definitely an improvement.

Things are progressing....

The end is in sight.....

Well... I can dream can't I???

Actually, looking at the first picture it's quite encouraging... I wish I took more detailed pictures... I feel a slide show coming on.....

One more thing

Projects

Ok, so I figured out another thing about myself from my mother's day talk. Mom's know that much of what we do is repetitive - washing the same clothes, the same dishes, cooking the same meals just to get up and do it again the next day... It's hard to see the progress. I think that's why I do Projects! I can begin it, work on it, see the progress as it moves along and then finally I have a finished product - proof that I've accomplished something - like my closet for example. (I would have taken before pictures but I was way too embarrassed (the sigh of relief you heard was from my sweet patient hubby - it was mostly my mess))

Taadaaaaa! finished project - mission accomplished! On to the next project.

Last fall, after our sweet dog Thunder died, we decided it was time to begin the backyard remodel we had been planning so we removed the deck we never used except as a very large dog house. This is the view from the eating area. Bushes have been cut down and footings still in the ground - 9 footings to be exact.

Things are moving along but I feel a little like our backyard is a war zone. Two of the three vegetable garden boxes are 2/3's of the way built... I think we have enough dirt for the water feature Christian, Jen and I are planning to make....

How come Better Homes and Gardens only show the before and after pictures - where are the "What the heck were we thinking pictures!!!?" Well, here are mine!

I am thankful to be married to a wonderful husband that is not only patient but very wise.

We are meeting with a landscaper to help me with my current project so I will have time to wash those clothes, those dishes, cook those meals and hopefully, before the first snow flies, we will be able to play badminton in our back yard after a nice meal that includes fresh tomatoes and grilled summer squash and then sit back and enjoy the sound of the stream trickling through the yard as we roast marshmallows in our fire pit..... Ok, Ok, Ok, I'll take the badminton and the squash and be satisfied! (although I can see the stream thing happening)

Is there a cure for this? My name is Karen and I have a project problem...