May 16, 2009

Update on Projects

Awhile back, I laid out 3 goals for this summer for house projects:

*Fix garage ceiling
*Give the windows a good "spring" cleaning
*Plant new grass in back yard

So far, we've worked on project #3, getting some grass to grow in the backyard. If you'll recall from my previous post, our yard was torn apart by our loving and playful pup, Ella. Given the energy and rambunctiousness of a 2 year old lab mix, you can imagine how much she loves to run around the yard, chasing everything from toys, sticks and even her tail. With all this darting back and forth over the already not so green grass, Miss Ella managed to turn our back yard into an area filled with dirt and mud, leaving no grass to be seen.

As the weather warmed up here in the 'Nati and spring sprung, we headed out to Lowes to have a chat with a garden expert about a durable grass seed that might have a better shot up against Ella playful ways. (Because even though people say Lab mix dogs call down when they turn 2, I don't see that happening for us anytime soon with her!) We ended up buying some "Smart Seed" and got started by raking up the dirt lawn and preparing the area for seeding.

We sectioned off half of the backyard with a temporary fence, and got to spreading the seed with our new handy walk behind Scott's spreader. We also planted a nice Azalea bush in the corner to try to deter Ella from barking when she sees the neighbors. (Though I doubt this will really make much of a difference in that area, but it will be a nice pop of color in the backyard!)

So far, the new grass is growing great! It's actually time for a cut and we're going to work on sectioning off the other half of the yard next week. Miss Ella is one smart dog, because she managed to jump our temporary fence last week and has now made it a fun backyard game of jumping to the newly seeded side, and then barking at us because she can't get back over the fence! (We'll have to get some taller yard stakes this time for the second half of the project to try to keep her from hopping into the newer seed.)

Nothing like watching grass grow to get you excited for summer time! I'll leave you with a fun picture of my girl Ella. Here she is back in February, running and jumping across the backyard. You can see that she truly enjoys playing and not even snow can stop her from "flying" in the yard. I wish the new grass seed luck, I think it's going to need it! (HaHa)

Have a fabulous weekend my "blog checking friends"!

6 comments:

Carole Warrick said...

We love Ella! Good Dog!

Carole Warrick said...

Check out this site for cleaning windows with water & vinegar, like your Grandpa Staley always did!
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10030.html#

WestEnder said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
WestEnder said...

Nothing like watching grass grow to get you excited for summer time!Point taken. Emergency happy hour to be arranged ASAP.

WestEnder said...

^ I don't know why the formatting is messed up. Weird.

LMJ said...

WestEnder, thank you for pointing out my old and boring ways. You're right, I must be in need of some type of Happy Hour soon! Hope all is well with you.