Monday, May 12, 2008

home and lawn

Well today Michael said he really felt like a home owner. He was finally able to cut the lawn. Finally because it has taken that long for it to get green and grow and also because we have been too busy to mow it. We had a 'discussion' the other night about lawns and the maintenance that should go into them. I personally feel that mowing lawns is a waste of gas, time, space (that could be used to grow food)and a little extra strain on the environment. Michael likes the look of a crisp, freshly cut lawn. He likes it to be even and tidy. I am also half dutch and I like tidy but a part of me fights the tidy side and wants wild/natural growth. I do not want to take the time to use the wipper snipper around each shrub on our property. We have a lot of shrubs, our land is rough and it has a wild edge to it with vines and trees growing all over the place. I personally like this and that is the main reason why I wanted to buy the house. Michael would like to 'tame' the yard a bit I think and we will have to agree that he gets the front yard and I get the back (or something like that). He has been working hard on the septic system, drainage so our basement won't leak again, tilling the land so I can plant things, pruning our raspberries and blackberries and improving the lives of our chickens; giving them lots of windows with fresh air. We haven't figured out a fox/weasel proof outdoor enclosure and until we do, they stay inside.


Here is Michael teaching Maetia how to fix the hitch on the back of the tractor

Here is our backyard. You can see the swingset, balance beam, slide, sandbox, bike with trailer, barn, pine trees, shrubs, wood pile, etc.....

Maetia's first tractor ride

Eli just looks up at the trees blowing in the wind and smiles. He stared at them for about 45 minutes today. Look how beautiful he is!

This is Maetia coming off her slide and jumping into the air right afterwards.
She just mastered the art of jumping with both feet at once and landing solidly on the ground.

2 comments:

sdouma said...

Your kids are beautiful. Thanks for sharing. As for the lawn - yours might be a lot bigger than mine, but how about an old fashioned push mower for the front? It won't waste gas and it's great exercise! I have one for my yard and it is definitely work to mow the lawn, but I figure it's an attempt at saving fuel...

Sue Contant said...

weakley1!I sat in the grass for 2 hours last Saturday pulling runaway grass from the walkway between house and patio in 30 degree weather. Each time I tossed a little worm back to the earth, I smiled at Maetia's shy worm words! Thanks so much for sharing her endearing words and thoughts. Love you all!