yard + cats

Well, we pretty much finished one of our major projects today but we have to let some paint cure before finalizing it (I hope to have pics for you by Tuesday or Wednesday).

But, here is some of the work I got done in our yard this week (okay, the husband helped a little too!) I planted geraniums in our front yard – we love all our perennials, but we need some annuals for color. Too bad I now think it clashes with our maple tree – better luck picking some next year! We also found some trellises and put them on both sides of one of our gates. We found some climbing jasmine (our new favorite plant after the success of our bush last year). I also found some great planters for our porch at Bag’N’Save for $9.99! I can’t wait for everything to start taking off this summer! Please note: our day lilies are OUT OF CONTROL. Last year they couldn’t have been more than a few inches wide and maybe five inches tall. This year they are massive ~ and it’s only May! P.S. Our grass normally looks much nicer but I mowed on Friday and I refuse to use the trimmer – those things freak meet out – so don’t mind the jungle of grass growing up our retaining wall.

And I learned something new today at the local nursery. We were convinced my amazing hydrangea from last year was dead because there was no green at all or new growth. But after talking to a guy there he said that most did die this year because of the bad winter, but if it is alive, there are little green buds that should be coming out. If so, you can trim the remaining sticks about three or four inches until you find green in the wood. Sure enough, ours is ALIVE! I was so happy because I worked so hard on it last year. Here is the proof:

Last year while it was thriving and this years hydrangea (yes, you have to look closely or you may miss it)!

Last but not least, a few new pics of our kids playing this weekend. They LOVE to go outside. Bearcat begs at the front door but today he was content just looking out and watching the robins. Notice the three beggars – Bailey never wants human food but the other three drive us crazy. One of my favorites is of the two boys ~ it is so classic ~ Hawkeye always runs to catch up to the others so he can rub all over them (notice how close they are). So cute!