Spring took us a bit by surprise in Iowa, with a few unseasonably warm days that brought the skirts and sandals and dandelions out. I wasn’t ready to trust this change of seasons, and have been expecting to wake up to a cruel frosted over world. But the blossoms are out in full force now and so I took an armful of my winter wools to the dry cleaner today. (Which means, with my luck, that even though it was 85 degrees today, it will probably snow tomorrow.)
I love that for a few weeks each spring, our backyard features a wall a fuschia flowers.
Home improvement ambitions also popped up, along with the buttercups and tulips. Now that the fence project is done-ish in the backyard (we’re contemplating adding a few more sections), Joe’s turned to the patio pavers. He’s planning to take out one walkway and raise the dirt level to help keep rain away from the basement.
The paver project begins! Hopefully we'll finish this before the April showers turn it into a mud alley.
The old pavers will be put to use for a new walkway that will cross the yard, like we do when we’re headed for the garage. Besides, the old walkway becomes unusable in summer thanks to our jungle of ferns and hostas that leaf out with great zeal along that shady strip.
Sitting, because we went on an 11-mile run today!
I do love the moss that grows on the little bricks. It makes it feel like our backyard is a secret garden.
I’m going to leave most of that project to Joe while I finish up classes and go on my trip to the TEDxSummit, but I’m excited to turn my attention to our new garden area and grow things!
Maybe we'll get some raspberries this year? I just put this bush in last summer.
The apple tree is blooming, too, and a friend of mine with arboreal ambitions has offered to help me care for it, so I’m hoping the fall will bring some apple pies from the urban homestead.
We bought an apple picker like you use at orchards a couple of falls ago and I use it standing on the garage roof, like a crazy lady.
That’s how spring is shaping up around here! Hopefully this season we’ll be half the homesteaders that Amy and Josh are. Garden-sitting for them last summer was so inspiring!
