Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Home Improvement

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We took one barren yard, added lots of oversized evergreens, and... VoilĂ ! We now have our own instant Christmas tree farm. Our favorite wholesale tree guy, Mike, delivered eleven Arizona Cypress and one adorable Teddy Bear Magnolia. This total gets added to the fourteen trees that Mike delivered a month ago, and the trees that our builder thoughtfully planted, to make a grand total of thirty trees. Things around the Smith Haus are filling in, but we still have more to add to the landscape.

It's a good thing that "Dig-Dug" Smith is pretty adept with a shovel. He does have some teenaged helpers, so don't feel too sorry for him. The biggest challenge with this tree planting project is getting rid of unwanted lawn materials. Thankfully there is a vacant lot next to ours that "needs" fill dirt and discarded sod.

My job is to water the trees every day until they are out of their 65 gallon containers. The watering job takes nearly two hours, so I will be happy when these trees get put in the ground. I am usually out watering trees in the dark. I need more daylight hours in my day, and a nice rain shower would be welcomed.
This Teddy Bear Magnolia is a dwarf tree that should only reach 15 feet when mature. It is a beautiful tree with nice fuzzy & brown undersides of the leaves. It is loaded with buds, so we should be seeing some blossoms soon.

It's always good to have multiple projects going on at the same time, so we are also taking on the expansion of the patio at the same time as the "tree farm" venture.

It took 15 yards of concrete and lots of skilled workmen to get this patio poured. We now have an additional 1,100 sq. ft. of outdoor living space. Too bad that we don't have any patio furniture to put on it. Looks like we will have to do some shopping sometime soon.

Rolando and Manuel pounded salt into the freshly poured 'crete to create a very nice finish. These guys have been finishing concrete for 14 years, so it was fun to watch them do what they do.

Millie Girl looks sort of lost in that sea of gray. Stepping on the rock salt barefooted hurt her feet, but she wanted to be the first to walk on the new surface.