Well folks- our lawn is pretty upset right now.  The grass hasn't been mowed in ages, some of the blades are yellowing...its not a pretty sight.  We had been having trouble with the lawn tractor all summer, it kept breaking belts.  Granted, the sucker wasn't in the best of shape, but when it mowed it MOWED.  The thing that really disappointed us was that the main reason we got a lawn tractor was for the snowblower attachment.  We figured we could save ourselves some cash if we could just clear our driveway ourselves.  Well, it worked, we didn't pay anyone to plow our driveway, but we ended up shoveling it more often than not.

So, after a year long love/hate relationship with our 214 (we bought it used from a fella we spotted on Craigslist) we decided to break up.  Kyle posted it and two days later it was sold- luckily the guy who bought it knows all about the crappy snowblowing and the issues we have with the mower- and he still wanted it.  So now we're mower-less.  Our thought is that maybe, just maybe, we could get away with paying someone to mow our lawn once this month and maybe we can let it go for the rest of the year.  Then, we'll look for an affordable walk-behind snowblower (our driveway is just too big to shovel and seeing as I'll either be massively pregnant or taking care of a newborn this winter, I don't forsee shoveling in my near future).

While we know what we want to do regarding the snow/driveway, we are completely unsure what to do next year for our grass.  We could get away with mowing just the upper lawn if we had enough animals to keep the grass down in the lower section.  And, lets face it, a handful of little goats and a flock of chickens don't really have the capability to knock down almost three acres of grass.  So the question is- do we want to invest in some sheep?  I'd love to get couple sheep so I could make some handspun yarn, but I'm not sure if it makes much sense financially.  Maybe a small horse?  One vote for the horse....one vote for a dirtbike....damn.

So the search is on.  We're seriously considering getting a reel mower so we don't have to worry about the gas and the noise (and lets face it, there are fewer things that can break on a non-motorized mower), but that definitely doesn't solve the whole dilemma.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  Perhaps there are some options we haven't come up with yet?

It was yet another GORGEOUS weekend!  Sunny and relatively warm in the low 40's.  On Saturday, Kyle and I spent the entire day outside trying to get some chores done.  We had a big pile of lath that had been buried under snow after our guest bedroom renovation last fall and, since the snow had receded, we were sick of looking at an ugly pile of wood in our front yard. 

After we cleared all the wood, I started raking up old leaves around the house that the girls had decided they didn't like.  After a little bit of raking and ripping up old, dead grass, I found a small city of spring flowers popping up in the gardens surrounding the house.  Spring has officially arrived at the Senesac Family Homestead!!  VICTORY!!!  I did my little happy dance and threw all the leaves and dried grass over the mud pit going out to the barn in hopes that it would prevent me from slipping and falling on my rear end in weeks to come.

Lawn work hadn't really been on our agenda for the day.  Really we were just planning on cleaning up the lath and running the electric fence for the pigs' pasture.  But once I saw how nice the house looked without the dead stuff cozying-up to it I decided to keep going.  Kyle and I raked leaves and broke down dead shoots from last year's flowers, throwing all the goodies either over the mud pit I mentioned earlier or right into the pigs' pasture.  We did bring a couple armloads of dried leaves over to the girls, who had retreated to their window seat for a nap after spending the morning on their outdoor platform.

It was glorious working outside without jackets and hats to keep us warm.  The sun was shining down on us as we toiled away in our flower gardens for the first time.  Last year we were too preoccupied with home renovations in compliance with the requirments of our home loan to have any fun come spring.  We had hastily planted a garden and promptly went on to other projects: primarily getting ready for our wedding.  That was the extent of our gardening. 

Of course, now, having seen all the bulbs that are sprouting I can say with confidence that we have WAY too many flowers in our flower beds.  The poor crocuses, tulips, and lilies have been multiplying for years and have become a little cramped.  I think its too late to 'divide and conquer' this year, but now I know the situation and will put it on my gardening 'To Do' list for this fall.

At this point we've only got a little more snow left in our yard, which I am seriously considering spreading out so it melts a little faster....

Fall is the very best time to buy trees.  Not only is the weather alot easier on the newly-planted, but most nurseries have amazing deals to try to clear out as much as possible to make room for next year's inventory.  So Sunday we took a drive to Elmore Roots Nursery who was advertising $20 trees and $10 shrubs.  These guys have been around for 30 years and trust me, if it can grow in Elmore its got to be hearty.

We packed the fifteen trees and three grape vines into the back of the pickup, covered them with a tarp, and headed to Stowe for an early birthday party for my friend, Ali.  Kyle and I planned a vacation day for Monday so we carved pumpkins, ate and laughed the night away with good friends.

We woke up on Monday to a clear sky.  After bringing the dogs and Elvis to their appointment with the vet we grabbed some breakfast sandwiches at DJ's and headed home.  By now the sun was high up in the sky and we set to work.

First we had to decide where exactly we wanted to plant our trees.  They would take up a considerable amount of space, needing about 25' between them, but we didn't want to take up potential grazing or garden space.  It was a debate between a nice little hillside behind the house where there are currently three birch trees and a beach tree in residence that faces west, or the flat section near the road that faces south.  It was a long debate but in the end we decided not to choose either spots. 

Instead we looked to the front yard where there is plenty of grass but unsuitable for grazing or gardening.  Not only would this be a beautiful spot for an orchard, it would also provide some great privacy from the neighbor across the road and people driving by.  And I love the idea of sitting on our front porch someday, enjoying the beauty of apple and pear trees in bloom.  While we debated on the layout of the apple orchard we planted the lone cherry tree (self-pollinating according to the orchard) in the front-right yard which gets some great southern sun exposure.

We set out the eleven apple and three pear trees and began placing them along our yard, twenty-five feet apart.  Kyle dug the holes and filled them with a bit of mineral mix, then I'd give them a big drink of water laced with some seaweed juice (highly recommended by the orchard) after we planted each tree.  It took some time, my hands were solidly brown from the soil which is always a good thing, and when we were finished we stepped back to enjoy our new landscape.

I painted all the trees with some special tree paint to protect them from sun and wind damage and we even clipped on some garlic-oil deer repellent to each tree.  I liked the end result- each tree was more visible with the white paint- at least Kyle will see them and not hit them with the lawn tractor.  Someday these trees will become a beatiful orchard and we'll cover their branches with white lights for Christmas and in the summer we'll have birds nesting in their branches.  But those days are far away, when our future-children are grown.  I like that; good things take time.