BusY BuSy BusY...LoTs oF BeFoRe & AfTers...

Good Morning everyone!! or should I say good afternoon to most of you out there...I hope your thursday is going well!!!..I have been busy since I got back from utah..This is a picture heavy post..on Saturday we started our day off with a walk, then sent hubby off to work and I went to work in the yard..(the photo above is the before photo) while I was back home in Utah..hubby did some of his own work in the yard to surprise me..he wanted me to have something to smile about when I got home with the week I had had..see the holly tree above (taken in Sept. 2010)

now you don't!!! he took the holly tree out for me and the tree in the next door neighbors yard...oh it looks so much better now..so saturday I rake up all of the holly leaves and removed the long leggy plants that were growing under the holly..they are called crocosmia...I love them..but they spread and as you can see I took them out last year and they came back..and I will probably have to keep taking them out till they are all gone..

the after photo..all gone..this bit gets good morning and afternoon sun..so next year I am planting my zucchini and pumpkins here and hoping they do well.. hubby even repaired the picket fence..parts of it were rotting and we still have to replace some of the wood..he even fixed the gate in and out of the yard..so much better now..the grass in the bottom of the photo is going away too..will be replaced with bark..it is just a bunch of moss and very little grass there..so no point in mowing it..

This was taken in from my craft room window..I can see my neighbors beautiful yard now..I haven't seen it in 17 years as that is how long that holly tree was there..

much more simplified..hubby needs to get a new blade for the chain saw to get the stump out..but oh I love this so much better..after that was finished..I mowed the lawn and worked in the back yard..deadheading plants etc...it was a long but productive day..

This is the before photo taken of the front portion of the yard...see the wheelbarrow..that is a type of ground cover clover..love it..but it takes over..ripped it out last year..and you can see it came back..

before photo of front yard..see the long crocosmia in the right front of the photo?...

more before photos of the clover and other stuff growing in the front..

aaahhhh the after photo..I worked on this yesterday..took all day just to do this portion of the garden..

This was done on Tuesday..did some stuff up front on this portion..still need to pull out plants closer to the wall portion..

after..you don't see the crocosmia any more..now you see that metal tiller..and the portion by the right side of the photo is gone too..took out all the yarrow and other stuff..

still need to work on this portion..it will be there for another day..maybe tomorrow..giving the bod a rest..

gotta do up the walkway and by the wall..I have decided to do some simplifying of the yard..since I am the main one to take care of the yard..need to make it easy and simple...cause when Fall comes and all those maples drop..its a huge pain to get out of the yard..(remember no one likes to take care of their stuff here) so I am left doing it..so ripping out my yard to make it more simple...

before....

after....

after...

Okay on sunday after church..I came home and put up my strawberry jam/sauce..I purchased 2 flats of strawberries from our fesitival they have here every year on the first saturday of July..(I didn't go this year) ...just wasn't in the mood..I worked in the yard instead..so I froze 2 pints to use in waffles or hot cereal come winter...when we want hot oatmeal.. and the rest made the yummiest jam/sauce ever..I did 5 batches and made 37 jars of jam...

this is where it is currently residing...

and here too..I will give some of this away for christmas gifts this year..I gave one to my new next door neighbor on sunday..hot of the press..she had company coming for the 4th so they had it on their vanilla icecream..she said it was the best she had eaten..and she only has 1/2 a jar left..I am just glad its over..took me 6 hours to do all this..but worth it..;)

for the 4th..we didn't do anything but go to the farmers market and then home for an early dinner of ribs marinated in beer and potato/macaroni salad..quiet day..

our new website is currently open and we have some wonderful talent out there..so be sure to check it out..on the 1st and the 15th (I am doing the 15th)..I have lots to share too..halloween and other fun stuff..

Today I am going to take it easy..catch up on some recorded programing..and maybe sewing..haven't decided..today is a drizzly overcast kind of day..just right for parking it on the couch..take care and I will be back tomorrow with some goodies I have received in the mail...Have a wonderful day.;)