The Pioneer Project

On days like this I cannot control the urge to go outside and plant something. It's as uncontrollable as the urge to eat chocolate chip cookie dough icecream. It's as uncontrollable as the urge to kiss Jacob and Kaylen a million times a day. It's as uncontrollable as the weather.

Sometimes I feel like our little homestead is a bit of a wilderness. We have ugly shrubbery on the front of the house and pretty much no shrubbery on the back. At the time our house was built, apparently there wasn't much spent on landscaping. Subsequent owners haven't cared either. Until me. Me and the springtime urges.

It all started when I stopped at the Grower's Outlet in Loganville to see if they had any Gerber daisies. I went too late last year and got one lone plant and I was determined that would not happen this year. The lady told me they have 10,000 coming in tomorrow. Guess who is going to the Grower's Outlet tomorrow? Big cheesy grin on my face right now. Not sure how I'm going to do it with the babes, but we'll let tomorrow worry about itself.

Then I came home and starting looking around. Gerber's need sunshine. Where shall I put them? And then began what I am calling the Pioneer Project. Having neither gardener nor green thumb, I have to rely on what I do have- brute strength. And a garden tool called a hoe. The entire depth of my house is the perfect spot for my gerbers. Alas, it is currently home to a weedy grass mixture which has a root system that rivals that of a 100 yr old oak tree. If you could see me laboring with my hoe and my little bucket into which I am putting the removed root system and then dumping in another location, you would immediately be taken back to the pioneer days of breaking sod. Think Laura Ingalls.

I now know why landscapers keep an arsenal of heavy equipment at their disposal, or a team of laborers if no equipement is on hand. Whew. Hard work. I am fortunate to have the help of my strapping young pioneer son, who has been very helpful with his shovel and bucket.

My little sweet girl is more of a city gal. She's not into backbreaking hard work, sweat and dirt. Not that I blame her. Truthfully, neither am I. But this isn't about me. It's about the Gerbers.

I'll be honest, I don't know if I will be able to move my arms tomorrow. Or if I will be able to stand up straight. I really don't even know if my plan will work- dig out weedy grass, buy bags of Miracle Grow to cover the red clay, buy and plant Gerbers. Live happily ever after.

We shall do our best, though. Won't we Jacob? And if for nothing else, all this work was worth it to hear the following:

             Kaylen is fussing. Jacob runs over "Whas wrong, Kaywen? I helping mommy. Is okay." Kaylen garbles something to him. "You want more toy? Ok." Then he looks at me, points a stubby finger and says "I be wight back, get toy Kaywen." Then he runs and brings her his tangled plastic slinky. "Here go!"  

Then back to work he went. It was a sweet moment. How on earth did I get two wonderful babies? I am so blessed!

The Pioneer Project is in full swing. We have made it about 3/4 of the way down the side of the house and I'm trying not to think about how it really needs to extend around the corner of the house and down the back a ways too. However, it will really look better back there and then I could put out tomatoes too!

One day down, one back broken, one blister, make that two blisters, several loads of root system dumped, one diaper change and two potty breaks...and some very special moments with my loves- BEST DAY EVER!

Now where can this pioneer girl find some tylenol and a backrub...