Lawn Vacuuming

Our yard is 1/3 of an acre, with lots of trees. Last year I raked leaves, I mower-mulched leaves, I blew leaves, I carted leaves with the wheelbarrow, and finally I let piles of leaves kill grass when I gave up.

I was determined that this year was going to be different; this year I was going to do nothing! I just didn't have it in me to fight the never-ending leaf battle. I didn't know what would happen to our lawn, or how I might regret it in the Spring, but this year's plan was one word: forfeit.

Enter the Holy Spirit with His divine inspiration.

The parish across the street has a lawn service. When their gigantic tree dropped its leaves (90% of which landed in our front yard) the lawn service drove a giant ride-on leaf vacuum machine across the grass and sucked up that measly 10%. I looked on in envy and thought bitter thoughts as I gazed at the remaining 90% littering my front lawn. (Er, that part wasn't the divine inspiration, in case you were confused).

I tucked that image of the vacuum machine away in the back of my brain, pulling it forward whenever I glanced out the window at the thick carpet of leaves accruing. Despite my "do nothing" stance, I was feeling pulled between certainty of the futility of managing those leaves and guilt regarding my obvious failure as a responsible home owner.

Yesterday, (this is the H.S. part) it dawned on me that we have a bag that attaches to our lawn mower. Could I create my very own lawn vacuum simply by attaching the bag to the mower? This seemed too easy. If I've lived 30 years and not heard of this, it must not be a feasible option. I googled it. I found a website that sells oversize bags to attach to your lawn mower in order to vacuum leaves. That seemed promising. Then I Facebooked it. Apparently it has been done... successfully...by multiple people! Have I been living in a cave, why have I not heard of this?!

So, last night after Mark headed off to class, I put our lawn mower to the test. I finished the front yard in about 45 minutes. I had to empty the bag pretty frequently, but compared to what I've done in the past, it was a piece of cake. Today was the true test: the backyard (and the huge Maple hasn't dropped it's leaves yet!)

After pass #1. This picture gives a better view of the quantity of leaves:
Halfway done!
Two and half hours after I began. Ta Da! (hours later, I'm still in awe)

The Dream is Alive

Note: I wanted to include pictures of my children and our new exterior, but the only ones available to me are on Mark's facebook page which I used to be able to copy here, until Facebook changed them to a non-jpg format. So, I really do apologize for no pictures...but check out Mark's facebook page if you haven't in the last month or so. On to the post...

This seems an appropriate title for my blog post considering that the shuttle Discovery was retired yesterday. From one dream to the next and I have a MUCH grander to one to replace it. Who really cares about the vast expanse of boring old space, anyway? (Honestly, I think space is pretty amazing!)

My dream? If you recall from a few posts ago, I would really love to have a sweet cherry tree in our yard. This dream was squashed due to our harsh Minnesota winters and late arrival of Spring. Enter the Mesabi Cherry tree. It produces a semi-sweet/sour cherry somewhere between the Bing and typical sour cherries. If this is the closest I can get, I'll take it! I also decided, prior to this discovery, that even sour cherries, while nearly inedible when fresh, would be tasty treats if dried and covered with chocolate. The Mesabi however is the best of both worlds: edible when fresh or dried (or pied/tarted/jammed/sauced...). Did I mention it's a natural dwarf? It grows to about 10-12 feet with the bottom branches a mere 2 feet off the ground, making for easy picking!

I also decided that Tulameen raspberries, while not promised to thrive in our climate, were worth the risk at a mere $3 per bush. So I'm out about $10 or I'm in raspberry heaven. The Tulameen produces the giant sweet raspberries you often see for $1/ounce in the store.

Kate also asked about blueberries. I was under the uneducated impression that homegrown blueberries were basically small, tart and seedy. A simple internet search proved me wrong and introduced me to the beautiful Chandler Blueberry. These are HUGE and supposed to be sweet, juicy and all around delicious. Again, I'm not overly sure that they'll thrive here, but they're supposed to be ok up to zone 4 (which is us) and I'm willing to risk it. I'd probably have to winterize my blueberry and raspberry plants, but the hassle required is well worth it when you consider quantity, availability and cost compared to the store!

Guess who is a fruit farmer at heart? :)

Mom did mention that I should be sure to note the pH of the soil, as different plants require different soils. There's always one more thing to consider, isn't there?

And praise God it won't be spring for at least another month because I can't garden very well from the confines of modified bedrest! (Let's not talk about the difficulties of gardening with a 3 yr old, a 20 m. old, a newborn and a postpartum mom.)

By the way, re the coffee maker, thank you! to all who contributed your comments; it was very helpful. We're leaning towards a glass French Press for the cost, simplicity and excellent coffee (and we already own a grinder, so no prob there).

Leisure Activity #1

To add a little interest to this post, I've (finally) entered the world of public domain pictures. Hurray for me, welcome to the 1990s!

Along with the thaw last week came the Spring Fever bug. All it took was a glimpse of grass and I was infected. Bedrest, a laptop and wi-fi are a dangerous and wonderful combination and I quickly became immersed in sifting through landscaping ideas for our front and side yards.

**Since then, we've had a 12"+ blizzard.**

Our front yard has 2 small gardens containing an odd assortment of perennial plants: tulips, small irises and lilies, a climbing rose and clematis, and a tall spindly flowering-something to cap off the whole mess. While its better than nothing, it really is a mess and doesn't make a lot of sense.

So, because I know you're all dying to know what I have in mind, here goes:

2 Hydrangea plants (bushes?) on the east side of the house, spaced between our 3 basement windows.

3-5 Raspberry bushes on the west side of the house. I'm not sure how many to plant. Suggestions?

2 Peony plants in our front under-the-living-room-picture-window garden.
And a sweet cherry tree in our front yard. Except that we live in plant zone 4 and sweet cherry trees basically die in zone 4. So I'm slowly letting go of my life-long dream of having a sweet cherry tree in my yard. ...and trying not to cry about it. Perhaps I'll drown my sorrows in raspberries.

If anyone has experience with raspberry bushes, I have a question, taking into consideration that a) Our house is a south-facing ranch/rambler, b) I'm hoping to plant the raspberries next to the house running the length of the west side. Will they get enough sunlight planted there?

Where to begin?

-Kate visited for a week and a half. It was wonderful. We look forward to her return in July!

-We finished our renovation of the downstairs office and now have a fully carpeted guestroom/office complete with twin/king bed options and adjoining bathroom. Sweet deal, when are you coming for a visit?

-Iain had his first official case of diarrhea complete with scary lethargic colorlessness which prompted a visit to Urgent Care. He was fine after administration of a popsicle.

-Iain had further allergy testing done. We can now add soy, cats and tree pollen to the allergic-to list as well as needing to avoid ALL egg-containing products including baked goods. Booo. Poor Iain!

-Mark's parents arrived for a week-long, er, two week long visit. Thank you Volcano Euoilipoiqiuzbdiopaus (note: not correct spelling). It was truly wonderful to have them here for that bonus time!

-I had my last CT scan and at 5 years out from cancer treatment, am as close to officially cured as I can be. Cancer Free, Praise the Lord!

-Iain came down with Croup which prompted another visit to Urgent Care to make sure that was what it was. He looked ridiculously cute in his purple hospital gown with his diapered behind poking out the back of the gown. A dose of oral steroids and a popsicle later and we were home again. (Note: Yes, I am aware that popsicles can be purchased "over the counter").

-Shockingly, Lydia now has Croup. Knowing that this is indeed what it is, there has been no Urgent Care visit, just lots of Ibuprofen and some steamy bathroom visits.

-Can adults get Croup? If so, I think I feel it coming on. A quick Google search made it sound less than rosy for adults, but what else could this pain in my upper throat and kinda woozy head be?

-I'm addicted to lawn edging. My new-found passion has given me bursitis in every joint in both hands except the distal joint on my index fingers. Fortunately, said edging is nearing completion. I also have a new-found compassion for arthritis sufferers.

-Mark's Feast Day is this Sunday and I'm in the midst of making the traditional Archibald Fruit Cake. I also have to make my own marzipan for the first time because my supplier, World Market, folded along with everyone else, last year. I hope it turns out ok. I told Mark I'd attempt a lion as a decoration because St Mark is oft depicted as one and "Iain likes them. Why that's relevant is beyond me, but Mark tried to talk me into baseballs as decorations "for Iain" and I nixed that unholy idea. Back to the lion, I warned Mark that my attempt might end up looking more like Daisy, the ugly beast of a pot bellied pig who lives down the street, (and whose aroma wafts towards unsuspecting passers-by on hot windy summer days. blech.)

-My German language education has corrupted my correct English sentence construction (or perhaps that's just my excuse). I can't seem to remember the rule about capitalization of nouns. I know there's something about only capitalizing names and proper nouns, but what counts as proper gets all muddled in my head. Perhaps I'll ask my mom; she's sure to know. For now, nouns seem to make their way into my writing capitalized at inappropriate intervals according to some mash-mash of German/English/Betsy rules. I am aware of this and hopelessly unable to stop it. Feel free to add your corrections in the comments section. Perhaps if I get enough of them, the correct English rules will be restored to their rightful place in my brain.