Filed under: The Adventures, The Disaster Twins, The Family, The Yard | Tags: building a fence, dogs running free, fence
Spider-Husband and I have contemplated getting a fence ever since the first winter of Chow-Chow, where the Blonde family spent many a midnight fighting off frostbite and questioning why we thought getting dogs was a good idea while the Disaster Twins took turns circling around the yard looking for that one special spot where the serious business could be done. And, while the circling patterns have differed and the spots may have changed through the years, our fear of hypothermia and cursing through our clattering teeth has not.
But, still we have endured.
Well, until this spring, when the rest of our phase of the subdivision is being finished, including the building of a new house that sits behind our lot and will soon contain a home whose back corner is approximately six feet from our property line. ’Cause really…who needs a backyard? Thus, Spider-Husband has spent the past few weeks obtaining building permits, getting cost estimates, scheduling survey appointments, and picking out the perfect post toppers for our latest unexpected investment.
Last Friday was the big day. Spider-Husband took the day off since I was in Boston for a business trip, which is probably for the best since I’m sure I would have had a meltdown when forced to hand over the credit card to pay for the little project. And, I admit as I drove home from the Indianapolis airport, I was still a little uneasy about spending the money, worried that we’d made the wrong decision, and frustrated that we even felt like we needed a fence because of someone else’s decision to build as close to the property lines as possible.
Until…
I swear I had a hot flash of maternal pride – something like I imagine a parent must feel when they see their child doing something that makes them truly happy for the very first time.
Oh, Hal. Oh, Bard. You made Mommy’s day.
Filed under: The Yard | Tags: boxwoods, daylilies, geraniums, hostas, impatiens, landscaping, mugho pines, petunias, privets, yard work
Apparently I learned something during my miserable three-month summer stint working as a cashier at the now defunct Frank’s Nursery and Crafts. I’ve only recently discovered the insane amount of plant and landscaping knowledge that I somehow absorbed in between accepting declined credit cards as payment, getting written up because my drawer came up $25 short one night, ringing up enough pine bark nuggets to cover the entire state, and listening to Cher’s “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves” no less than fifteen times a day on the store intercom.
Spider-Husband and I decided to put my new-found horticulture skills to the test this weekend by adding new landscaping to the side yard, and dare I say, moving some of our existing shrubbery from the front of the house to the side since when left to their own devices daylilies will triple in size each season and eventually overtake your entire yard.
Where we started.
Spider-Husband hard at work.
You’ll note that there’s no pictures of me during this endeavor. I’m far too delicate of a flower for that – according to SpiderHusband, my job was to just stand there and bark out orders.
Oh, and to laugh at his jokes…
Spider-Husband: We’ll call this one Jimmy Hosta
Me: What?
Spider-Husband: We buried him where no one will ever find him.
And, voila, the finished product…
At least until we manage to kill it.
