Life in the Yard

It was Tuesday and that dreaded time of the year when we pick gravel out of the front ditch. This past winter was exceptional for bits thrown up on the lawn.

For a change, I decided to make a day of it and get at much done as possible, instead of spacing this chore over 4 or 5 days as in past years.

Not only did this limit our work to one day, but the overall clearage was better than ever! (click on pictures to enlarge)

Trevor did a fair amount of work, despite his preference for minuscule tools.


Oh goody! My blood red peonies are coming up :-)



Despite occasional wind velocity experiments, Ethan did the lion's share of picking up pine cones all over the front yard, which he seemed to prefer to bending down and picking gravel out of the grass.


Carolyn, Nolan and Derek, "in the ditch." I went along the edge with a rake and pulled some stones back onto the road.
Nolan specialized in stopping every ten minutes to ask me if he could take a break...

Melinda toils, despite getting over a cold. There is no end to my need of slave labor, and I figured it would do her and Ethan good to be outside in the nice weather.


No more Mr. Nice Hoyts....this year, instead of throwing the stones back onto the road, we used them to fill in a low place in our driveway.


One of my jobs was to get all the fruit trees pruned...


A few daffodils all aglow, the first spring flowers to make their appearance.


At the end of a hard day of labor, 'tis time to gather the apple whip branches...ideal for making bows :-)
A match of archery skills between Ethan-of-Grimace and Carolyn Trueblood.

Which arrow went the farthest?



The only one of its kind to come up, this little star-like flower is blooming in a small rock bed near the road...
...a reminder that persistence has its rewards.
 

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