To Be, Or Not To Be (Outside)

So...

1. I haven’t posted since Monday.

2. I haven’t a good excuse for not posting since Monday.

3. ‘Cause it’s just been normal busy, not extra-special busy, so I guess we can just say I’ve been lazy.

4. Or that I’ve been distracted.

5. Or that I’ve spent countless hours of my precious time cleaning ever-loving mud off of shoes and clothes and laundry rooms and back packs and, and, and....

6. Rain, I love thee, but, mud, I loathe thee.

Which brings me to my current topic of this evening:

The “Great” Outdoors.

So.

I should start by saying that I’m not by any stretch of the imagination an official outdoorsy person.

Because bugs. 

They like me.

All of the bugs in the world. 

They hunt me.

(And my poor Chica, who gets all the bites, just like Mama.)

That said, I actually adore being outdoors (during the right seasons)—especially in the six years or so since I became a mother. It helps to center me, to put things into perspective, to provide distractions and fresh air and exercise. I mean, it’s just good stuff.

So it’s been sort of a personal mission over the past few years to turn our small-ish backyard into a lovely little oasis (perhaps that’s a wild stretch, but that’s what I’d love for it to feel like someday, ha.)

And the latest step in that process—and about a five year dream-in-the-making—was realized last weekend when our new trees were delivered and planted. :)

I posted a few weeks ago about our visit to our happy tree farm that we love so much. At the time, we selected a large magnolia—like the two we planted at the side of our house a couple years ago—and three lilacs, as well as a couple other fun tidbits.

And, man, was it such a happy thing to have everything arrive and take up residence.

The magnolia was pretty giant—heavy enough that five men arrived to haul it in! But due to its root system and the container it was housed in at the tree farm, they were able to bring it in manually and not dismantled the fence to bring it in via hydraulics, thank heavens.

Still. It was no easy feat—and definitely provided entertainment for the kiddos. Until I forced them inside so they weren’t hovering, ha.

It looks just ginormous in this shot below, which is a little deceiving due to the angle of the pic and the slope of the yard. But, still. It’s such a beautiful tree and will only grow heartier and more full with some TLC. Just like our others have grown substantially in two years. :)

The next step will be to dig a circular flower bed around the base of the tree. I have a happy vision of planting some fun, flowing ornamental grasses and then creating a stone pathway from the tree to the patio. I hope I can start this process in the next few weeks, but it might have to default to Spring. We’ll see.





Our other wonderful additions are these beautiful, single-stem lilacs that are tall enough to peek just above the top of the fence already—something I thought we’d have to wait a year or two to achieve.



The purple blossoms are so gorgeous and will be a happy pop of color for most of the year. :)



It’s all just baby steps, but perhaps this round was a bit of a giant leap and I’m just sooooo grateful to peek out the windows and see stuff. 

With every year and every tiny project I’ve started on my own, I love to remind myself that there was nothing—not one stitch of anything but grass—in the backyard five years ago when we moved in.

And now we have legitimate flower beds. With stone borders. That we’ve tackled slowly but surely. And things that grow and are thriving.

I can’t wait until we fill in the mulch and tidy everything before we settle in for the cold months. And then, come Spring, it will be soooo fun to tinker more with things back there.



Side note—this is one of my ornamental grasses I planted just 18 months ago that is going gangbusters. There are a few right outside the living room windows and they’ve just sprouted these orangey feathers this week as Fall is upon us, and I seriously luuurv them. And if you zoom in on the right, you can see a little gecko hanging out in the feathers, hehe.



So...yay for more yard progress and the happy, happy, joy, joy it will bring to our outside fun! The kiddos have been so engaged in every ding dang yard project we’ve attempted, and I just love the ownership and excitement it stirs in them. :)

I’ll take the fresh air and happy yard any day—even if it comes with the mud.

More pics as things truck along. :)

HAPPY FRIDAY, peeps!!!