Getting ready for dirt

Well, the garden framework is almost ready. We'll have 10 cubic yards of dirt coming on Thursday. That's a lot, if you haven't guessed. We ordered dirt from an organic farm that shut down. It's supposedly good stuff. We hope to get peppers, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, and some herbs. We'll see how we do, as we are running a little behind on the planting.

Today was also painting "maintenance" day. I went around the house and hit all those areas that were needed help. Woohoo fun.

We find ourselves in party planning mode these days. Corbin has his 2 birthday parties coming up (we split them up so they each would be more mangeable). Then there is the July 4th party, which is looking like it will be on July 11th. I've got my first Father's Day coming up. I wonder what Corbin will get me ;)

Goodnight!

Straw babies

Monday was a great holiday for the family. We took Corbin on his first strawberry picking adventure. Jean and I picked two 'pecks' of strawberries, which turns out to be quite a lot -1/2 a bushel! Corbin picked leaves off the strawberry plants, the hat off his head, handfuls of grass, sticks, the hat off my head, and anything else he could get a hold of. So goes learning about the world.


We stopped off at Slate Run Park for a snack and a little time in the shade. Corbin didn't get much in the way of naps, cause he was having too much fun.

'Night! from Lee

Baby's Bday coming up!

It's really hard to believe our little one is going to be a year old. Where did the time go? Every day I see him grow and change I am a little bit sad and a little bit happy. Sad to know the time when he can be toted around in my arms is passing by. Happy to see him explore and learn and laugh. I'm sure it is that way for all parents...

The new face of evil

Here you have it. Much like a mug shot of a hardened criminal, this maple seed appears remorseless. What crime has the seemingly innocent whirlybird committed? I will tell you.

As I might have mentioned, Jean and I recently had a professional landscaping company redo our yard. We decided to go with all dark mulch, a change from the golden cyprus we used to get in the front. When they were done, we were very pleased with our beautiful new yard and flower beds...for about one day.

A strong wind blew through central Ohio. Next door, my neighbor's maple tree did what any smart self propogating tree would do - it released oh, say, 20,000 maple seeds. Now, normally the wind in our area blows away from the tree. But not this time. All the seeds drifted gleefully into our yard.

All dark mulch. 20,000 off-white maple seeds. Now our flowerbeds across the entire house (even the opposite side of the house) look like a teenager with acne. Now, how do you remedy this situation? Well, you certainly don't leave them there, not after spending a bunch of money to make everything look nice. No, you get down on your hands and knees, for hours, and pick them out of the mulch.

Pick pick (insert choice words) pick pick. Something like that...

At least somebody is feeling well

Having been highily susceptible to strep as a kid, I had a bad feeling when my wife (who rarely gets sick) caught strep. Sure enough, it is my turn with all the yucky symptoms that go along. Yea for medical science and antibiotics. I'd hate to be a pioneer on the frontier and catch this without anything to help.