Last week we did a monumental thing. We planted grass! Yes, the side yard now has grass!! It looked so good that we were filled with enthusiasm and moved on to the other side where we planted a cactus garden (but not before Mia dug halfway to China – something she never does. Must have been the best dirt ever). The next step is to lay down some ground cover (grey pebble rocks), then it’s on to the pond and we are FINISHED!

Mia was watching with great interest as we planted the cactus garden. She’d sniff and put her nose so close to the pointy cacti that we were sure she would poke her nose. Amazingly she didn’t. She’d get oh so close, then with an almost sixth sense of her danger would pull her head back. Smart dog. On the other hand, we did (poke ourselves). I was planting the little guys so I got little stickers all over my hands. Chuck was planting the big boys so he got the big stickers. We had a painful day or two of picking them all out of our hands, but are recovered now.

I keep thinking we should calculate the total cost of this landscaping. But that way lies madness. It just blows my mind how much money you can fritter away on a house. Back in the day when I was a semi-itinerant enter I gave absolutely no thought to such matters as roofs, or plumbing, or landscaping. My friend Cheryl was over while we were planting (she couldn’t help as she had just gotten a manicure, la-di-da) and we were marveling over my transformation into a (mostly) settled wife and homeowner. Ten years ago me sitting in a garden planting anything was about as likely as pigs flying. My claim to fame then was that all of my belongings could fit in a couple of boxes.

Wow, times change! Chuck is WAY to big to fit in a box. Pics of grass here. Cacti pics to come.