This is why I keep him around...

....because sometimes, he's just so darn funny. Frustrating, but funny.

So yesterday I talked Chris into working on the grout removal in the bathroom. It didn't take him long to agree with me that the HCL didn't do a darn thing (except stink up the place!). But then he had a great idea....and got out the Dremmel. A rarely used device in my house, so sometimes we forget we have it. Anyway, after much trial on an extra tile, he found just the right tip to take the grout off but not damage the tile. I went in to check things out and after showing me how easy (but tedious) the job was....he attempted to poke me in the butt with the Dremmel.

I jumped away and glared at him that he would "rip a hole in my favorite pajamas!" (Hey, it's vacation here, remember?) He obviously didn't believe me and to prove his point stuck the Dremmel on the side of his shirt. It immediately ate the shirt up, wrapping the whole thing around it until it just couldn't pull anymore. He just looked at me with a look of shock and amazement and exclaimed "I didn't think it could DO that!" Sure enough, once he got his shirt unwrapped from the monster Dremmel, there was a big hole in it.

Anyway, since I stuck him with the suck job and it was a beautiful day, Celia and I went outside to work. And by beautiful day, let me just say I could not have made a better day myself! Somewhat cool and breezy so I didn't even have to get sweaty when doing my yard work, but sunny enough to be pleasant.

I got all the weed eating done (on a side note, my arms do not hurt when I use that thing, but for about an hour afterwards, I seem to lose all fine motor skills in my hands and arms....does this happen to anyone else or is it just me being weird?)
Then I got to spread more mulch on the last area of my side garden that needs it. I don't know if I've shared the mulch saga with you.....but we have a mountain of free mulch right outside out fence that needs spread. See, there's a guy down the street that cuts down trees for a living. He mulches them up, but has to pay a dump fee somewhere unless he can give it away to a neighbor or someone.

That's where we come in. Anyway, a few weeks ago he brought a really nice batch of hardwood mulch and dumped it off behind the fence. It makes me feel all green and environmentally conscience to use it....since it's all natural and untreated and stuff. Plus, I feel all radical, bucking corporate America and spitting in the face of Walmart and their overpriced bags of mulch. But only in the backyard. I love my black much in the front of the house so out there I'm an ozone sucking capitalist pig.....but in the backyard we're all green and earthy.

Now, this fresh, natural mulch looks great, but it has a few drawbacks. First, it's still decomposing. Which means it's got this....smell about it. Not as bad as manure or anything, but still, not all that pleasant. But only around the big rotting pile. Once you spread it out, it seems to dissipate the stink.

The other thing, it's hot. It seriously puts off some heat. Our good friends down the street put clear plastic over theirs. Between the trapped heat of the sun and the heat put off by the chemical breakdown process, you could seriously burn your hand on that thing. No joke. It steams and everything!



I'm afraid of spontaneous combustion, so I leave ours uncovered. Plus it helps keep those pesky neighbor kids out of the yard!

My mom tells me that it's really not good to put that fresh, still decomposing mulch on growing plants because it uses nitrogen that my plants need. I tell her to shush up with that science talk before my plants hear it. See, they don't seem to know the difference and are doing fine with my free mulch. All I need now is for someone to clue them in on the fact that they could whither and wilt and demand the store treated stuff (or that I patiently weed around them for a whole year and spread the mulch next year).

Here are some more pictures of my plants, doing well!

My monstrous pumpkin plants. Look at this guy! He's huge! Reaching out into the driveway even!



And in the mornings, they are covered with the huge, gorgeous yellow-orange flowers.



These are my peas that were so teeny tin y when I put them out....they've taken up every inch on the tee-pea I made them. I'm definitely going for a bigger one next year.



And here is an actual pea pod. Actual food, that could be eaten by people, growing in my garden. Amazing.



This is the final section that I finished laying down week block fabric and mulching yesterday. You can see a slight color difference between the new and what has been out for a few weeks, but after a few days of sun and rain it will all look the same. There's a baby Clematis at the foot of that trellis. It saw in a box in my kitchen for well over a month, but still looked a little green to I tossed it out there on a whim. We'll see how that works!



Here are some bright new arrivals in the front of my yard. Some lily thing...



And some summer crocus-y thing. I don't remember exactly what they are, because I didn't write it down. But I think they are pretty! And even better, they will be back next year. And multiply!



Alright. So here are the as promised photos of the front. Isn't it awful? I've got all this disorganized stuff in the back (those spikes are Gladiolas....I think they'll be fabulous when they bloom ) and nothing but bare mulch in the front. Some neighbors down the street have a beautiful patch of poppies that I'm in envy of....but those are quite tall and really don't belong in the front.....


Thoughts? Ideas?