Sunday, March 18, 2012

Up and At 'Em!

The weather here has been so beautiful it has been a gift to be outside and enjoy the sunshine.

The doctor approved me for mild exercise starting Friday [walking, 2 lb arm weights, more stairs - nothing too amazing] and it feels so, so good to be mobile.  Spottie is becoming quite spoiled from all the long walks we are taking.

With the neighborhood awash in color of the blooming trees and flowers we decided to spruce up the front of our home too.  We don't have a front yard, per se, but a small plot [3 x 5] at the foot of  our steps and a long strip on each side of the driveway [1 x 14] that gets absolutely no sun light.

It is a challenge to give color to these small spaces, but I think Pooldad, Wallene and I managed it. Especially Wallene. She is a dynamo.

We weeded [gah! There were a lot of weeds here - the only thing that grows here], put down landscaping fabric [take that weeds!] and mulched with red nugget mulch.   We have a red brick home so it matches nicely.
This is the right side by our stairs. So clean and fancy!:
 And the left side [those are our neighbor's stairs]:
At the bottom of the steps we weeded again and Wallene planted all these beautiful petunias and placed all the rocks around.  She took the rocks from the creek bed down the hill from our home.  Industrious kiddo - free rocks. We also mulched with shredded hardwood.  The stick in the middle is our Charlie Brown tree, but it hasn't bloomed yet so I chopped it off in the pic.  To the right of our stairs is our neighbor's driveway and his strip of landscaping, but he isn't home much so he just leaves it as is.  I would've loved to extend our flowers out, but that is his property and he wasn't home to ask.  He is a really nice guy so I am sure he won't mind when I see him.
 Up close shot - the flowers are purple, yellow and lavender which are Squirrel's school colors. She'll be so surprised. :)
I am pretty sure the flowers will grow and spread out more - that is IF we can keep them alive.  We are not gardeners by anyone's imagination but I am hoping that Wallene got a green thumb from her namesake and great grandmother.  Fingers crossed. :D

After lying in bed all winter it is so fabulous to get outside and do something.  I am quite sore now and although that doesn't look like a huge amount of work, for me?  It was. I am seriously out of shape.  I know I am going to be achy, achy tomorrow but it was worth every minute of it.  It is hard not to take granted everything we have, and we do have so much to be thankful for, but sometimes it takes something as simple as planting flowers with the family  to make us realize just how much we do have.  I don't look too far into the future right now, instead choosing to concentrate on the here and the now.  If time is shorter than I expected at least I will have a smile on my face and in my heart because of the pretty darn nice life I have lived.

I should be asleep right now because tomorrow I am painting the front door! Woohoo.  At least I can do part of that sitting down. :wink:
 
Have a wonderful Sunday Tadpoles. We'll see ya' on the flipside.

9 comments:

Shelly said...

A terrific day, for sure. The landscaping looks great and the flowers are beautiful~

Juli said...

I love when stuff starts to bloom. I just noticed the other day the crocuses are finally up and the daffodils are close behind. :)

The real test is to see if all the Walmart flowers come back this year. Fingers crossed!

Anonymous said...

Isn't it fantastic when the spring comes?
Your front looks beautiful, and the flowers are beautiful. I'm sure they will grow and spread there. Very nicely done!
Have a lovely Sunday my friend!
Big hugs

Carolyn said...

Glad you're up and about! Good to get out in the sun and in the dirt a bit.

colenic said...

I wish we could plant...still not quite the season for it...Yay for getting out and doing it...i am sure the sunshine is restorative for you as it is for me!! I have to ask...did you have your corned beef dinner last night?? hubby just went and bought two more cause they were on sale for 69 cents a pound and I thought of you. Hope you are well..hugs and love to you and yours!

Southhamsdarling said...

Hi Skippy. Oh, I was so glad to read this post and find that you spent some time OUTSIDE (Happy Skippy Dance being done by Thisisme!!). You all did really well and everything looks so lovely and tidy now. The plants look lovely, and I love those colours. Well done to Wallene as well! I can just imagine how wonderful you must have felt to actually be DOING something. As you say, just take one day at a time. That's the way to do it. I just adore your little family, but then, you know that already!! Big hugs from across the pond x

Anonymous said...

Yep - you are absolutely correct - appreciate what you have and live in the moment!

If you want any plant to die, just bring it to my house. :D

HUGS!! Biz

ellen abbott said...

big smile

Yum Yucky said...

Free rocks! She's such a smart kid. Every year I when plant, I name what I plant. This year I'll be reserving the name "Wallene" for one of the prettiest flowers in my garden. =)