Yard Work day

So sore...oh my gosh. Now I remember why I was so ripped when I was doing archaeology. Back then I was shoveling, troweling and digging for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. This weekend I've put in about 7 hours and feel like my muscles are rejecting my body.

It will well be worth it in the spring though! I went over to my mom's house and we went through to thin some of her plants. One hour later and I don't think we even made a dent! Dad took his new truck to Meadows Farms to get a load of funk (mulch) and met us at my house.

Saturday was the big push day. We put my tlc cherry tree into the ground, planted about 40 baby Burning Bushes along the front yard (where the white I's are. You can't see them at all they are such babies), and put about 8 mums into my front house garden since the Blackberry Lilies are done for the year. Dad took his chainsaw and with Scott's help cleared out all of the dead trees and brush from the back fenceline. Then we put in about 25-30 Rose of Sharon bushes (babies) along that fence line, with Ajuga as a little groundcover between the plants. (You can also see my neighbors dog in the picture. They are adorable and keep me entertained while gardening). I would love to eventually terrace this part of the backyard into two or three tiers with a rock waterfall. Ah ambitions...

Today we worked on the bulb garden in the side yard. When we bought the house there were already beautiful purple Irises that bloomed and made the wall beautiful. We spaced out those Irises and also added a white/purple variety I purchased from Home Depot. We also planted some Hyacinthe purchased from Martin's grocery as well as some Snow Glories. Then we added some bulbs mom and I had dug up from her yard a few months ago which included tulips, daffodils, yellow irises, and lillies. I cannot wait until they all start popping in the spring!

I also planted some Hyacinthe plants next to the tiger lilies in the from garden. The zinnias and geraniums were awesome, but sadly are going down now that it's dipping into the 30's.

I also think Virginia forgot about transitional seasons. We had the AC on all summer to combat the 90+ temperatures from May until October. Then mid-October we went from 80 one day to 40 the next and have had our heat on ever since. Come on VA! Get a grip. I want some transitional seasons where I don't have to pay for climate control!

Last weekend was crazy Halloween weekend! Scott and I went over to my parent's house to help set up and hand out Halloween prizes to the kids. This year we had books for anyone under 14 and some candy for older kids. We also had the annual glow bracelets that the kids adore.

I was a Seuss Bird (complete with bright purple tights and a feather tail) and Scott was a Superbowl spoiler in his Lion's jersey. The jersey was even funnier because the Lions actually beat our local team earlier that day and, let's face it, the Lions are not a great team by reputation.

We were still setting up when the first family stopped by. The dad was amazed at the yard, and said that this was their first stop of the night and the kids were asking "Are we going to the cool house this year? Let's go to the cool house!" the entire way. We gave them a show and as they walked back towards the car the son starts taking off his costume! He thought they were done for the night and was ready to go home.

I think we had well over 80 kids stop by that night and everyone seemed really happy with the house. It was definitely a successful night.