Outdoor Projects--Not For The Faint Of Heart

We have been working on several outdoor projects over the past few weeks-- ranging from moving a brick path, cleaning out and planting flower beds, sowing grass seed, and planting a vegetable garden, to simply scrubbing down all of the porch railing, killing weeds, and ridding our yard of poison ivy. The flower beds were about a two week project, as I had to clear them out and start over. I also had to make multiple trips to Home Depot for more mulch (it always takes more than you think it will!). Hannah was a big help-- transporting plants in her little shopping cart, spreading mulch, and helping to install the solar lanterns. Last Saturday, Hannah, Jonathan and I got started on a 16 x 8 foot vegetable garden. I cleared the ground and dug out the space with some help from Jonathan (who was also busy tearing up an existing brick path warped by tree roots)-- and a little "help" from Hannah. We were quite sore the next day! Jonathan laid timbers for the border (2 high), and I filled the area back in with soil and compost--again . . . very sore muscles! Hannah and I had a lot of fun shopping for seeds and veggie plants, and I spent one afternoon (in the rain) planting everything. Jonathan has used "weed and feed" on the yard and sown some grass seed in an effort to undo years of neglect. I used to wonder how my neighbor in Florida spent so much time working in her yard and garden-- now I know! I never really cared about these things before, but we are really enjoying our outdoor living space. I think owning our home has also spurred us on, as it is no longer "money down the drain" (well-- if all of this flops it could be, but you catch my drift-- haha). Now I guess I will spend a portion of my days fending off bugs, checking for flowering plants, and watering our little vegetable patch.