And Then There was the Ivy.

We have been waiting for the weather to warm up, anticipating a major overhaul of the backyard.  One of the best things about this house is the fenced yard.  It has changed our daily lives being able to let the dogs run freely outside. It spares Mommy and Daddy taking someone out on the leash in the middle of the night in the freezing cold! Hallelujah! But before we all break into song, let's talk about the current state of the yard and what we are up against.

The back half of the yard was beautiful ivy, but two things have occurred over the past few months: dogs and leaves.  The dogs, without surprise, have killed much of the ivy off, and as our neighbors could tell you, the houses along our street get more leaves then I have ever seen in my life.  Let's just say, people that you would never assume to own leaf blowers own two here! Thus, we had our work cut out for us.  I've always loved big projects, and my idea of a good time is clearing my backyard over spring break! Don't judge.

Thus, we spent two days, two beautiful 80 degree days, outside with the dogs, not only blowing leaves and picking up hundreds of sticks, but discovering all kinds of weird trash in the yard. Our neighbor said that no one has touched this yard in over 5 years!  I'd like to add that the previous occupants must have loved throwing broken bricks, old tools, and glass bottles up in the air to watch them crash into the yard, only to be left for the 2009 Henson Restoration.

This patch of grass (our only patch of grass) is our hope for the rest of the yard!

Jack was pretty excited to spot it too! (Actually, Jack is looking at the shadow of the grass, because he loves shadows!)

Here it is all cleared out! The back half will grow ivy again, and the front half will hopefully be beautiful green grass. Start praying.

Just in case you're a numbers type of person, we filled 32 of these bags with leaves. Each bag holds 39 gallons! Chris does great work.

A few highlights of the job include Jackson standing directly in front of the leaf blower and enjoying the shower of dirt and leaves all over himself, Tex finding a brick in the yard and falling in love with it. He licked it and pushed it around for an hour, and Ruthie digging herself a "lawn chair" in the dirt for lounging and supervising. 

Hopefully, in the months to come we will have drastically different pictures of this sweet little yard. I hear rumors of mulch, grass seed, chain saws and miracles!