Journal 1

A garden journal is a must for a successful wanna be gardener. Tch tch if you repeat your worst mistakes. It is only fair to those who have labored so hard thus far to bring you up to date with all the work that has been done, so here is a brief synopsis.

The barren wasteland of a yard is a work in progress and will be for many years. What a challenge, what fun and what a dream. A few highlights from the past 9 months.

We planted a peach tree. Our first planting in June 2009. A gift from Patricia, Rick and Jackson.
During the summer months, we picked up trash, raked dirt and graded the slopes and waited for the heat of the Texas sun to abate before we dove into the really hard work. Left over limestone blocks were laid to edge the driveway and future sidewalk and planting beds. After giving up on stone and rock erosion deterrents, downspout hose drains were installed to stop the water cutting a deep trench at each corner of the house.

Grading, grading and more grading. Pushing and shoving, bucket loads of dirt we didn't break any backs but we did break three rakes before buying an extra heavy duty dirt rake. We built a low retaining wall on the north side around the mechanical equipment and planted winter rye grass in an attempt to hold what little top soil we had in place during the winter rains.

Tommy told us he was going to quit coming to spend the night. The lake house was closer to his hunting lease so he was in the habit of hunting early in the morning and then coming to the lake. He was teasing more than grumbling. Work work work during the cool fall before the winter rains and cold set in. I actually planted a few bulbs in the island bed at the driveway.

These few words seem so scant compared to the hours we've spent over our labor. Is it a labor of love? Who knows. We'll let you know how we feel in a few years.

Journal 1 brings us up to December. Next post will finish out the what has been done.

Then onto what is being done and what we want to do.