All hands on deck

After spending a Spring and Summer waiting for our backyard to do something gorgeous, we decided to demolish it. Gone is the boardwalk that ran the distance of the yard, the cutting beds that were falling apart and yielded only a few pretty things these past few months, the fences that guarded those beds and the veggie garden, and more.

Through the destruction of the past few weeks, Connor has been Ed's faithful companion - ready with a rake, crowbar, hammer, or shovel whenever duty called. But on Monday, Ed finally got the mechanical reinforcements he needed in his one-man, one-son battle trying to restore openness and calm to our little jungle. Enter, the digger truck. A well-timed illness on Connor's part meant he could lay on the couch and watch the truck rip out a mighty stand of bamboo and other brush, regrade the back quarter of the yard, and eventually see a truckload of dirt get dumped and finally seeded and covered with hay.


And now starts the reconstruction.

Cleverly, we invited friends over for a "playdate" and as soon as the girls arrived, Connor shot out the backdoor, enticing the older of the girls to follow. It wouldn't be long before all four children were out there, shovels in hand, digging up an entire wheelbarrow of dirt in the place that will soon be home to a 10 x 8 sandbox. I'm only sorry I wasn't able to "photoshop" in beers for the three adults that observed their steady progress.



After Zoe and Mia left, Helen requested we go to their house next time. Doesn't she realize we've got to get the dump truck with sand in before the fence goes up in a few weeks? We'll be hosting playdates at our house whenever the weather is suitable for digging!



Elaine