Springing Forward

As has been stated previously by me, I love spending time in the yard with the boys. My projects don't get done as fast, but it really is nice to see the boys eagerly and earnestly assisting. Ian in particular jumps at the opportunity to help me in the yard. Lately, when his behavior starts to get a little out of control, we assign him tasks in the yard and he is always ready to help.

The project this spring, was to fill in the hole we had dug for the boys' amusement last year not only with dirt, but with a matching photinia. This particular shrub does really well in Texas and the other one we planted proved to be too difficult for the boys to kill. So task one was to find a healthy specimen, prep the hole with soil and plant it.

As you can see in the following pictures, Miles and Ian were eager to assist.

Ian is kind of posing in this picture. We found some tools that were just the right size for the boys but weren't made out of flimsy plastic. Odd thing was, they were really cheap too.

Miles loves playing in the dirt. He was fascinated the entire time.

Miles didn't particularly want a shovel. He liked using his hands.

The next project was to yank the sod away from the two Navajo Willow we planted in the back years ago, and to place a square patch of dirt around them. The reasoning behind this was to a) add some color and have a flower bed and b) more importantly, protect the base of the tree from lawn mowers, weed whackers, etc. Navajo Willow are really fast growers but really susceptible to disease. By creating a sort of barrier around the tree, it will protect them from getting injured, opening them up to insects and disease.

The next step was to place the breathable weed prevention and cover it with mulch. Liam is really strong and can lift the bags of dirt and mulch and was a great help spreading it evenly. As an added touch, the boys decided to decorate the base of one with our rocks from Utah and Arizona. We shall have to see if there are any in Texas we can use for the other tree.

This project took a number of weeks to do, but it was well worth the effort. Ian was especially proud of all he contributed and was eager to show it to Lisa when we were done.