BEFORE: We literally had a dump truck bring us a load of compost and mulch.
Thanks to Josh's help one long morning, we moved most of it to the backyard.
AFTER: Phew, that was exhausting!
Michael first had to spend time tweaking our sprinkler system so that the trees will receive proper watering. He did this all himself!
He rented a sod-cutter and began removing 10 feet of grass along the back and side of the yard.
The sod-cutter made it so much easier than to remove with a shovel!
My OCD tendency showed because I liked when the sod neatly rolled up...
After Michael spent a lot more time removing the fine chunks of remaining grass, he could cover it with compost, and then treat the soil so it will be nutrient-rich for tree-planting.
Some of the trees will bear more fruit if you spread the branches out, so Michael made "branch spreaders" using wood scraps and placed them in some of the trees.
This was one of the peach trees as it first started to bloom.
It quickly began to have more blossoms and leaves.
We still had our garden box full of kale, and we easily yielded enough kale to more than cover the cost of planting it (compared to buying from the store). Dino kale is our favorite kind!
All in all, Michael planted:
4 Apple trees
57 Blackberry bushes
2 Pineapple Guava bushes
5 Fig trees
4 Bunch Grape vines
2 Muscadine Grape vines
2 Mayhaw trees
5 Peach trees
4 Asian Pear trees
4 European Pear trees
2 Plum trees
1 Satsuma Mandarin Orange tree
Since Michael has gained an interest in gardening, we both have begun to appreciate the natural beauty in God's creation.
A beautiful Chinese Pistache tree that's at our work. They turn this vibrant red color every fall!
We are so thankful to have such a quiet and peaceful backyard to enjoy sunsets right from our porch.
Another beautiful sunset in Texas
Other random happenings include:
Michael buying a power tower...and putting it in his office
For New Year's, we hung out with some friends from Bible Study. One of them has a pet snake and it was really cool to play with. I think she (the snake) was cold, because she kept trying to get into my hoodie's pocket.
We bought some horse stall mats for our garage gym. They make doing Insanity videos so much cushier, and we can still park the car when we're done.
While riding our bikes one day, we noticed a hidden garden/park at a local church. It was such a beautiful and peaceful place, we hope to visit regularly.
We got our first snow in our new house! It wasn't much, but it stuck for a full day.
And no blog post would be complete without the other members of the family...
Ethel putting Fred in a sleeper hold
He got her back one day though
Lots of lazy dogs and cats in our household this winter
Ginger just loves to weasel her way UNDER the blanket I attempt to cover the couches with
And this is what happened when we left the dogs outside after a rainy day. We were especially surprised because Ginger normally hates to get dirty. She must have had a lot of pent up energy!
No shortage of energy here!
I can't stay mad at her for too long though
Could she get any cuter??
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