Strawberries and dirt

I spent a spectacular Saturday and rainy Sunday in my yard. Saturday was all about getting as many things as possible done before the forecasted rain struck late afternoon.  The biggest project we finished was the fort (see previous post), but we got lots done in general.  The girls and I mowed, weeded, trimmed trees, staked tomatoes, picked lettuces, cucumbers, spices and strawberries and built a woven branch trellis.

We ate nearly 4 cups of strawberries and made three strawberry rhubarb pies. By three I was tired but happy, and ready to head inside when Mike got home for supper. The girls and I had made a homemade salad with all our own greens, cucumbers and strawberries for lunch and I was excited to show off the pies for supper. Mike worked all day at his new job in the Children's department, and came home in the rain secure in the knowledge that he'd be resting due to precipitation on Sunday. We sat out in the yard that night on newly dried lawn chairs enjoying the candles and solar lights in the smell of recent drizzle.

When we woke up Sunday, Mike could see me eying the front yard and the rain. His dad had asked Mike to come help move some sod, but cancelled because it was raining, leaving Mike available. He cleverly offered for us to go for a walk in the rain in an attempt to distract me, but when we got back, he just sighed and said he just wanted to finish one more cup of coffee.  Then we went out and dug in the dirt.

Turning sod is hard work on the prairies, and Mike's wife wants the grass roots composted and as much of the dirt saved as possible. In order for the ground to be easy to dig it needs to be soaked, which is a rarity on this province. Luckily record flooding, and Bob's unwillingness to have a hole with wet dirt in it, cleared the way for me to have a patch of wet dirt. Mike cut up the sod, and Anwyn and I banged the dirt off of it. We spent about three and a half hours in the rain clearing sod, but we didn't quite get finished. More tomorrow - on the way back to dump the grass we found more ripe strawberries despite 24 hours of rain. I picked two cups for breakfast and count myself luck to have both berries and dirt (see album with tree house and digging pics).

Just for Gus, I will let you know what is newly blooming:

• lupines (pink, white)
• pink and fushia peonies
• white bell flower
• thrumbingeria
• 5 types of morning glory
• white bleeding heart
• sedum (6 types)
• 4 other ground covers
• yarrow