I love the smell of Holly-Tone in the morning

[moonwise]

Such a lovely weekend. I'm so happy now that spring is here. We have three gorgeous cherry trees in the back yard, and there's something very Japanese about viewing the moon and the cherries at the same time. XD Sadly, the cherry trees in the back are starting to drop their petals in a snowfall every time the wind blows, but the cherry tree out front only just started to bloom. My daffodils came up (mostly) and are looking very cheerful. The package was supposed to contain many varieties, but out of twenty, three didn't bloom and only one is different from the standard yellow kind. That's OK; they are pretty all the same.

It was past time to do something about the state of our yard, so we put out a general call for help this weekend, and husband's parents answered the plea. I don't think I'd be exaggerating too much to call Mom Q a master gardener, so it was great to have her around to tell me what kinds of plants would work well in our back yard and which ones the deer wouldn't immediately destroy. (We have a LOT of deer in our area.)

We took down one tree and several shrubs, and we planted two Leyland cedars, a Japanese holly, and a kind of spirea. The back definitely looks a lot nicer now that the scruffy dying spruce is gone. Mom Q and I looked in vain for a butterfly bush that wasn't white, but it seems that most of the nurseries don't have them in just yet. We'll see what we find at Cook College next weekend when we go to Ag Field Day. Husband was worried that if we planted butterfly bushes too close to the road, the butterflies might get hit by cars, but I reassured him that we'd plant them closer to the house.

Last Friday, husband surprised me with a brand-new Jenn-Air grill, and we christened it on Saturday night with some excellent steaks (yay Costco!) His aunt and uncle came over for the cookout, which was great because we'd been meaning to ask them over for a while. They had helped us paint, and they hadn't seen the house again since we moved in permanently.

Husband left yesterday for South Carolina until Wednesday, so I get to play Single Girl until he returns. Mostly this means having Cocoa Krispies in the morning because he's not there to sniff at my love of kid cereals. He'll be away quite a bit this summer, which isn't very fun. Oh well, more internets time for me at home.

Comments

[pointedview.livejournal.com]

A new grill? Awesome! It sounds like the yard work paid off! :)

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Indeed! I'm so excited about grilling this summer. I hope I can use the thing without blowing up the house. :)

[fadingembers.livejournal.com]

Summer sleepovers at Suzanne's!

[arafel.livejournal.com]

PARTAY!

[fallnangelspike.livejournal.com]

NO ONE should scoff at kiddy cereals :)

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Srsly. Honestly, if you check the nutrition information, many of them are no worse than, say, Grape-Nuts.

[jaina.livejournal.com]

Husband was worried that if we planted butterfly bushes too close to the road, the butterflies might get hit by cars, but I reassured him that we'd plant them closer to the house.

That is ridiculously cute of him.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Isn't it, though? :)

[emiweebee.livejournal.com]

We have one of those horrid sprays that keep the deer away. They work really well if you reapply regularly. The downside is, when you spray, you have to spend the next few hours inside, with the windows shut.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Blech. We've seen those sprays in the store. It's a good idea, but I think my first tactic will be to limit my plantings to things that deer don't like to eat.

[emiweebee.livejournal.com]

Just a heads up - sometimes, they don't care! :D

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Agreed. A hungry deer eats whatever it finds - they're just less likely to eat certain things.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

That's what tiggymalvern said! That's ridiculous!

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I am jealous that you can have holly! Too cold for it here.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Really? That surprises me. I thought that hollies were OK with the cold - must be the association with Christmas.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Mass. is about as far north as you can get, sadly. I think it doesn't mind snow but it's the harshness of the winter up here that kills things.

[dougras.livejournal.com]

Sadly, the cherry trees in the back are starting to drop their petals in a snowfall every time the wind blows

Ah, but that's the point, you see.

It's supposed to remind you of the impermanence of life - here for a week, gone the next - which you then get totally wasted over.

So get yourself a plastic sheet, some picnic food, and enough liquor to get really drunk off of, and sit under the falling cherry blossoms until you're out of booze.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

So get yourself a plastic sheet, some picnic food, and enough liquor to get really drunk off of, and sit under the falling cherry blossoms until you're out of booze.

Sounds like a plan! :)

[cassandramorgan.livejournal.com]

Somewhat ironically, on the local news website today, there's a gardener's article saying not to plant butterfly bushes because they are invasive.

http://www.nbc10.com/news/15661611/detail.html?dl=mainclick

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Heh. Well, butterfly weed is suggested as an alternative! :)