Preparing the Garden

As I was studying one day back in the office, I heard a thud.  I rushed out expecting to see a downed bird, but instead found this little guy panting.  I wanted to put my NP skills in action, but he didn't need CPR, didn't have strep throat, and definitely didn't need a Pap smear.  I offered my usual remedy: rest and hydration.  After about an hour, he flew away, hopefully cured. 

Random pic:  An artichoke heart and lemon butter...Yum.

We had two huge brush piles in the back yard that needed to be cleaned out before we could do any sort of gardening.  We had been ignoring them since we moved in back in October.  Finally, we set to the task of snapping twigs, one by one.  We liked the idea of getting a mulcher, but it cost way too much to rent one for the day.  We opted for the free option of filling our city compost can with the twigs.  This is Marcus jumping on and compacting the twigs.  

This is Kerry, his other half, snapping apple tree twigs. 

This is Handsome Eddie looking as dapper as ever, still sporting his machisimo 'stache.

Mixing the compost with the topsoil...Yay, the garden is coming together!  After mostly finishing at our place, we headed over to Marcus and Kerry's and whipped their boxes into shape by sifting the pea gravel out and adding dirt and compost.  So exciting!  We're like regular Amish folk - barn raising - except without a barn and, well, not Amish. 

First hint of spring in our own yard!  I planted these back in November, soon after moving in.  

So much for Shandies (lemonade + cheap beer) and bonfires.  What a tease!  I thought it was Spring! Oh well, a good day to stay in and do homework I suppose.  Not that I wasn't going to do that anyway, such is life.