Bragging Rights

3 summers ago, just before I began my Masters and loathed the idea of getting a summer job, my parents hired me to help with the landscaping. We had just built the new house, and the yard was a whole lot of MUD.

After gathering several ideas, playing with them on paper, making several trips to Burnco, and having Anthony rip up the front yard with a Bobcat, Mom and I took the inspiration and began our landscaping duty.

The task was rather daunting at first. Our yard is not small, and we planned on doing a full length curvy, tall retaining wall as well as a sidewalk and stairs. So, we armed ourselves with little shovels and began the time-consuming, muscle-building task.

At one point, Eichi & Anthony (our builders/friends who were still around the house all the time finishing things up) took pity on us and offered me a crash course with the Bobcat. One doesn’t turn such opportunities down! I was a little shaky at first, but I think I got pretty good! Although the intense concentration that is evident in this picture was vital.

We worked hard!

We built most of the wall without a wet saw. If we needed chunks taken off the giant bricks, we did it with a hammer (while wearing safety goggles of course). When we got to the top of the wall and building the sidewalk and steps, Dad joined us with a rented wet saw on weekends. That thing was more than a little more effective than the hammer method.

Our faithful doggy Tessie kept us company! :

By the end of August, when it was time for me to leave for the Duane & Karyn’s wedding (en route to the U of A), the wall, walkway, and steps were completed. The only things left to do were to lay the sod and plant the pretty flowers.


Mom & Dad recruited some University (IVCF) boys to help with the sod, and voila!


Then Mom put her miraculous green thumb to work and made the gardens look pretty.



Last year the backyard was also completed. Now... BRING ON THE SPRING!

PS- Hee hee. Mom, remember when we went to rent the tamper? The big huge men at the rental shop looked me up and down and one of them said with skepticism, "Are YOU operating this thing?" To his amusement, I nodded and he teased, "I'll buy you a slurpee if I can come watch you!"
He didn't (as that may have been creepy), but it was funny. Little women can be landscaping wizards too ya know! :)