The Beginning

Luke and I picked up a stump grinder this morning, so we are officially starting on the fire pit area of our backyard. We're planning on being completely finished in two weeks. I was kind of hoping someone from "Yard Crashers" would offer to come get it done in an afternoon, but I didn't see anyone with a camera crew at the rental place. That's ok though, because Luke wouldn't want anyone else to do it. There's a lot to be said for enjoying something you've worked hard on, right? A certain satisfaction with a job well done. Here is the 'before' picture:

Mark your calendars for a weenie roast! Oh, and Jake...could you bring the fire pit??

Chinese Elm

Dylan and I were walking down the street yesterday, and I noticed the neighborhood is yet again blanketed with chinese elm seeds. If I had a magic wand, I would make them all disappear. It made me think of when we cut down our chinese elm, which is still sending up little trees...five years later! Luke has poured salt into the stump, dug out roots, and even soaked it in diesel fuel and burned it. The thing just won't die! Luke is going to get a stump grinder this week and try to kill the "wicked witch" once and for all so we can build our fire pit. If everything goes well, we'll be roasting marshmallows before too long!