Trees, Pumpkins, and Cookies...

We have finally been able to plant some trees in our back yard! Part of what took so long after the lawn had grown up a bit was that we couldn't decide, or agree on what to put in the ground. We both knew we wanted a maple of some sort, Jeff wanted an evergreen, I wanted something that would provide shade.

A few weeks ago Jeff said he was bringing me home a surprise. Turned out it was our very first tree! Well, not the first on the property...we have a cottonwood in the front yard, but that was landscaped when we bought the house. My delight quickly turned to disappointment when I saw what he brought home. I specifically had requested no juniper trees. They're pretty, but very messy. Guess what was brought home. Well, it IS the evergreen he so badly wanted. A compromise, to be sure. A few days later it found a home in the ground out back. Now I just want to see it thrive. I'm attached.

Last week we saw Walmart, of all places, had Brandywine Maple trees for ridiculously low prices. Since we had no idea what those were, we came home and did a bit of research. What we learned made it appear this was the tree we had been looking for! We went back the next day and picked up two of these little trees.

We immediately set to work digging and chipping the holes. First was the one in the Northwest corner of the yard, set just so that it will provide shade, pleasant appearance, and comfort without blocking our wonderful view of Pikes Peak. It was a pain to get the hole done. Remember the shale I spoke of when we put the yard in? It's still there (of course). We learned our lesson with the lilacs this spring. We bought a tamping rod just to get those in the ground. It was used again. Eventually we had ourselves a hole that was big enough, both in diameter and depth, we made up a beautiful mixture of fertile soil, filled the hole a bit, placed the tree, watered, and filled the rest of the soil in. The little tree was then staked in place and topped with mulch. One down, one to go.

Through all of this, Luke was having a ball with the wheelbarrow. He was filthy, I think he may have cracked a bone in the dog's foot when the whole thing, boy and all, fell over and landed on Red (he's fine, don't worry), and he brought in a ton of dirt in his pull up, but he was happy.

Jeff started on hole number two, but decided it would be faster to call a friend and borrow his tractor. The tractor has a backhoe. Strong, quick to work, and would definitely break through the shale.

Or so we thought.

The backhoe hit a shelf...or a giant boulder, we aren't sure. Whatever it may be, there was just no breaking through! The hole was deep enough that it wouldn't be a big problem....except we needed to know where the edges are so the roots could make a way around. If the roots just splayed on top of this thing, the gusty winds that prevail here would cause our beloved little tree to fall over when it got bigger. We can't have that! Still, we couldn't find the edge of this rock, and it was quickly getting dark. We called it a night.

4 days later Jeff rented a jackhammer. Talk about quick work!! Just a small amount of time and he broke through the 2 1/2 foot thick rock to the clay below. Dance for joy!! We now had our hole complete and started the work of mixing soil again. Does anyone out there have any idea how long it takes to fill a hole that's close to 5-feet deep using one wheelbarrow? Oh my! But, we got it done. Our tree was placed, staked, watered, has our outline for another flower bed around it, was mulched, and is standing proud in our yard.

So, we now have three trees gracing the Northern side of the property. It is beautiful, even in its incomplete stage. If there is any doubt, just remember that less than 6 months ago it was still a fenced-in piece of desert with some junk from previous owners littered about.

I did, however, have to be goofy. Luke has a little front-loader tractor toy, and a big yellow dump truck. I saw the two sitting on the lawn, looked at the hole, and couldn't resist taking pictures of our little Bingham Canyon. I did that twice. I doubt those who don't have ties to the Salt Lake Valley will understand the joke, but I thought it dorkishly clever.

The pumpkins? Well, they are the first out of my garden. I have one more that is juuust about ready to come in, but could still use a few more days on the vine. I don't really know why I felt the need to show the first 4 off to the world, but here they are.

Tonight there are only 3 sitting on the counter. The fourth has found itself made into pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. A special treat for our Labor Day cookout with the next door neighbors.

Lastly, and not in the subject line, I couldn't resist snapping a picture of one of my cantaloupes. This plant wasn't even supposed to be there! I bought a cantaloupe early this spring, while snow was still on the ground. It managed to collapse in and mold itself in 2 whopping days. I threw it out to where my big flower bed in the back yard is now in an effort to add some nutrients to the soil as the snow melted. After I finished bordering in the bed and had a good start on plants there, a little cantaloupe plant popped up. It has now nearly taken over the bed, and I needed the lattice to keep the vines off the lawn. I never knew a fruit of this type could, or would, grow while hanging. Silly thing...but it's also currently the biggest one being produced. For some stupid reason, though, it entertains me.

So there you have it. It's a bit of a boring entry, but at least it's something. From here on, I sit and watch Gustav approach the Louisiana coastline and deal with the massive anxiety over my little boy starting daycare on Tuesday.....