Digging with Daddy

After a few summers of pulling weeds and grass out around the sandbox, Keith decided it was time to dig out the area again and put some weed barrier down. The sandbox also needed to be refilled since, despite many, many reminders, the sand does not all stay in the sandbox during play. So, after a trip to the hardware store for more sand, the boys got down to digging.

Now the turtle is nice and snug and full, just waiting on some warmer weather for more playing!

One Step at a Time

After more than a year (maybe even more than two, I'm losing all track of time) of dithering, waffling, and run-of-the-mill indecision, we finally took care of this minor disaster:

Our back steps were cracked and deteriorating, and Bert had a great love of pulling chunks out and putting them back in, like a puzzle.

There were rust problems around the railing.

And they had been held together by a few boards for quite awhile now.

We went back and forth on what to do, from steps constructed out of large rocks, to a small wooden deck and steps, to pre-formed concrete steps, to having concrete poured on site, to pouring concrete ourselves. You see, some champion dithering going on.

The ultimate plan is to cover the patio in flagstone (we were hoping to do it this fall but with Baby 2 arriving in T - 6 weeks, I'm guessing not). So we decided to rule out the deck idea. The large rock plan was the next to go, because we figured it was just a bit too rustic for our Cape Cod-ish house. So that left us with some sort of concrete steps, which we decided we would cover with flagstone to match the patio.

First we called a local pre-form company. The price of the steps alone was about $1100, plus we would have to have demo the existing steps and have footers placed before they would deliver the steps. Next option please.

In the midst of all this, a sidewalk around the corner from us was being replaced. After spending a good part of a morning sitting on the curb across the street with Bert, watching the concrete truck pour the sidewalk and the crew scurry around smoothing and shaping, I suggested to Keith that we get a quote from that company. So we did. And we liked their price for not only pouring new steps, but demoing the old ones, removing the debris, and expanding the small set of steps that go from the patio to the lower part of the sidewalk that runs through our yard.

We got a price on a Friday, and by the following Wednesday the site looked like this:

It took a crew of four men about 3 hours to demo the steps, dig out the area for expanding the lower steps, and place all the forms.

My big job was putting this sign on the back door so I didn't throw my pregnant, forgetful self down into the pit.

On Friday morning at 7:30, much to Bert's delight, the "mixer truck" pulled up. He even had to take his little mixer truck out while he watched.

Within about 40 minutes, they were off to pour at another site, returning a few hours later to put some finishing touches on the steps.

We were able to walk on the steps the next day and couldn't be happier with them. We opted to have holes left to add a railing of our own, though they could have provided one. Note to self: ask Daddy to build railing. In the meantime, those patio chairs are meant to keep Bert from taking a tumble off the side.

Now the lower steps are the same width as the back steps, and we plan to run flagstone across the tops of them as well to make them look a bit more seamless. In an ideal world, we would cover the whole sidewalk with flagstone but that is probably a bit beyond the budget at the present time. Right now, it is just nice to have wide steps to go down, especially when carrying wash to the clothes line or bringing in groceries. It felt like we were walking a tight rope before.

And Bert has a big dirt pile to play in, which he has been dragging his Tonka dump truck and digger to daily. Such a dirt ball.

Seriously, the added benefit of entertainment for Bert made having a professional do this job seem like an even better decision. Bert hung out on his stool at the back window pretty much the whole time they tore out the steps, even while they used the jackhammer. He was enthralled the whole time the truck was here and watching the crew run back and forth with wheelbarrows full of wet concrete and pour them in the forms.  He asked Saturday morning if the men would be back to do their work. Lucky for him, after our neighbor saw what a good job the crew did, he had them replace a section of his sidewalk on Wednesday so Bert had a second round of entertainment.

We are kicking ourselves that we didn't have this done sooner, and are happy with our decision to let a pro do it versus trying to do it ourselves. I can't even imagine the logistics of us doing it, with how long the steps would be torn apart and what we would have done with all the debris and what we would have spent on materials to build a form. Yep, making our only part of the job signing the check was the right call on this one!

Rain, Rain, Come To Stay

When we started looking for a house, we emphasized to our realtor that room for a garden was an absolute must. Although our garden still feels small in terms of what I was raised around, I am continually amazed at how much food we can produce in such a small area.

We all know the essentials for plants to grow: soil, sun, water. The soil and sun haven't been a problem, but when we have dry spells, using the hose and watering our plants from the borough water supply never sits well with me. Besides the fact that the water is treated with all kinds of chemicals and is considered pretty hard water, we have to pay for all those gallons running out of the hose, which certainly cuts down on the cost-benefit of having a garden.

The first year we had a garden, we did invest in a rain barrel from a local hardware store. We never rigged up a very efficient system for filling it, just setting it under the overhang of the garage and catching what we could (it has a roughly 4 to 5 square foot top with a screen in the middle for the water to run into). It was usually enough to fill the watering can out from for hanging baskets and potted plants, and occasionally after a big storm, we could run the soaker hose from it. It didn't really put a dent in our mid-summer water needs though.

At the end of April, the borough commission that I am a member of sponsored a rain barrel workshop. For $40, participants were able to see a presentation on making and using a rain barrel, and the importance of water conservation, as well as come home with their own barrel made out of a retrofitted 55-gallon plastic food grade barrel (the ones for the workshop actually came from a local Coca-Cola bottling facility). Keith was the first person signed up.

It took us a little while to actually get around to setting up our new rain barrel, because we had to get supplies to connect it to our downspout at the back of the house. Keith came up with a really great system to utilize both barrels, and to handle overflow.

First he placed some cinder blocks under the barrel to create more water pressure utilizing gravity. Because the patio is several feet higher than the garden, and the barrel is up on the blocks, the soaker hose is really effective.

Once the height of the barrel was established, Keith used his reciprocating saw to cut the downspout.

Then he used a flexible piece of spouting to connect the downspout to the opening in the barrel. The green "receiver," the red-handled spout at the bottom of the barrel, and the brass overflow nozzle at the top were provided through the workshop.

In an ironic move, he used the hose to put some water in the barrel because it was a really windy day and we didn't want it to blow away.

Then, in an inspired moment, he brought our store-bought barrel up to the patio and used a piece of hose to direct any overflow from the white barrel into the tan one. We had a few tenths of an inch of rain between when I took the picture above and the one below, and the barrel started filling up.

Keith's one remaining concern was that small debris from the roof would get in the barrel and be hard to clean out. We found this little mesh bag from one of Bert's toys that could easily be cinched around the spout into the barrel to catch anything. You could also use a small piece of screen or an old pantyhose.

In the heat wave we had the other week, we did decide to water a lot of the garden. Mostly we fill the watering can or use the soaker hose because there is not enough pressure to produce an actual spray from the hose.

With the storms that passed through the end of last week, both barrels are full to the brim. There is also a hose from the second barrel that passes back into the pipe that the downspout originally went into (situated behind the barrels), so any overflow is diverted away from the house and out into the yard. Though you can't tell from these pictures, the barrels are only collecting rain from the roof over the laundry room. Maybe this photo will orient you a bit: the barrels sit to the left, directly in front of the downspout. 

The laundry room is only about 6 1/2' x 13', so it doesn't take a lot of surface area to collect enough to rain to fill up both barrels, which total approximately 100 gallons.

I'm not looking forward to the hot, dry weather of summer (especially with this growing belly!) but at least we have our garden water needs covered.

Growth

Finally, finally, finally, it feels like spring has arrived. Though it has still been chilly in the morning and breezy throughout the day, we have been spending more and more time outside working, playing, and relaxing. A bunch of seeds went in the ground a few weeks ago, and I am excited to see them begin to sprout. Especially since I was being my usual cheap self and planted some older seed.

The peas are up, despite the seed being two years old.

Radishes aplenty....

Spinach too...

Lettuce, carrots, and onions are also growing, though we are still waiting for the potatoes to poke through.

The rose bush started from a slip of my Grammy's is growing in leaps and bounds.

Our spring bulbs are actually nearing the end of their bright and cheerful life.

Poppies and other perennials are getting a good start along the side of the house.

Hands down, these are the leaves we were most excited to see this spring...

Little leaves on our little apple trees! All four trees have leaves and look very healthy. As Keith says, "I can't wait to eat our own apples in five years!"

So with the yard already mowed once, plants popping up all over and green everywhere we look, I would say spring has definitely arrived at the quarter-acre. (Even if we did have a little frost this morning.)

Clean Up: Part 2

Some more fall clean up is happening this weekend, and Bert got very dirty. We spent the morning pulling weeds and plants that are done producing, dead-heading some perennials, removing tomato cages and stakes, and burying all that vegetation to help speed along its breakdown. Bert played in his sandbox and pushed his wheelbarrow around for awhile, but when we headed for the garden, we put him right in with us. It was one large, dirty playpen and we could go about our work without worrying that he was making a break for the alley.

The last of the tomato crop

Bert thought it was hysterical when I wiggled the stakes back and forth to get them out.

Doing a little stake wiggling of his own!

American Gothic: Quarter-Acre Style

A Bert-sized pumpkin

I guess he doesn't understand that there is a whole process to making pumpkin pie.

"Dad, how about you dig a hole and I'll sit in it?"

I shouldn't be surprised that the lens got dirty.

Good thing kids are washable. It was so funny to watch him set loose in the garden. After a summer of telling him not to pull the tomatoes that hung over the fence, he was thrilled to pull and dig and squish to his heart's content. And we are glad he likes to get dirty. Because there are lots of garden chores in store for him in the coming years!

And can I just say I am in love with his little raincoat? They go for about $40 new but my mom and I found it at a kids' consignment shop for $3. I was so excited.