Day 8 / 365 - Front yard Step Four

And after you bribe the children to spread the dirt - you hire the men again to deliver two pallets of sod and bribe the children again to roll out, cut and trim the sod. We didn't start this until after 8PM because our two 'heavy lifters' were at football practice but even after working 8 hours and football for 2 hours, they gamely helped mom and Kirk trimmed all around the rocks in the middle. Finally quit at 10 because we couldn't see anymore, LOL. I did about 1/2 hour to finish up in the AM. Then did a stupid thing - filled the roller with water and rolled it across the yard by myself. My back is still recovering! that thing must weigh 500 lbs full of water and the lawn is not flat. THAT is what I should have had the sons doing. BUT, I love the finished result. I'll post some big picture photos later and close ups of my roses which I am so excited to have in my yard again! i had a great, large rose bed in FL but haven't been able to grow any here. Okay, night all and Happy Tuesday the 22nd.

Day 5 /365 - Front Yard Step Two & Three

First you hire men with big machines to scrape away the top 6" of the yard - took two dump trucks to haul away and was at least 60% roots!
and then. . .

Then you BUY a load of topsoil and bribe (with pizza) your teenage children to spread it! I tried to get all three boys in one shot because I told them I'd never had them all three working at once.

and the work goes on - I LOVE the after :)

Day 3 /365 - Front Yard BEFORE

This is what a front yard in Colorado Springs looks like if you don't weed, fertilize and care for it. . . . for the past 4 years, I've only mowed and occasionally fertilized and the sprinkler system has been broken more often than working. Well, THIS is the result - we didn't have a yard; we had a small ASPEN Grove! LOL

Aspen trees, evidently, are the oldest living organism on earth and are all from the one, original root (or so local legend tells me). So, the original small stand of Aspens in our yard just grew and grew! When I finally called out a landscaper this year to ask advice because there were so many roots in the yard the grass wouldn't grow - the radical solution was to remove the top six inches of our yard and start over - those photos for tomorrow. Hugs to my 365 friends - Kat