BIG Yard Work

We have been wanting to take out the English ivy/poison ivy for awhile now. It is a BIG job. We had talked about renting a bobcat, hiring someone, just mowing over it every time we mowed. But finally push came to shove and we bit the bullet and hired two guys with a tree stump grinder. They worked for two days getting out the stumps, grinding down in the dirt 12 inches and hopefully they got all the roots, and they leveled out the dirt the best they could.

 

Somehow Mark talked them into digging up hundreds upon hundreds of daffodil bulbs.  That would have taken me forever to do.  Mark and I sat in chairs cutting off the green parts and putting the bulbs into buckets.  We filled three 10 gallon buckets.  One bucket is already in Cassie's garage waiting to be planted in IN soil.  Anyone want some bulbs?  I could never use they all.

And the work begins.  See how nasty it looks.  Dandelions, bare spots, weeds, poison ivy, thistles, plantains, ....a real mess!

All the tree stumps are gone and the little hillside has been leveled out somewhat.

 This is a magic machine called a dingo.

 

 Using the stump grinder to cut up all the vine roots.  Well, cut up everything in it's path.

 

After two days of grinding there is now more ivy of any kind.  There's nothing but good old dirt.

I can just see all that grass.  I can hardly wait to mow it and then teach Michael how to do it.

 Mark and I spent a few hours raking all the top debris off.  A pick up truck load full!  Granny flab be gone!

 

Yesterday, all day we prepared the soil, sowed grass seed, added fertilizer, and threw straw.

We were just about finished when a storm hit.  Mr. Bill and Billy came over to help us throw the last of the straw.  But we were one bale short.  Today or tomorrow, when ever it dries out, we will put the rest of the straw on and water until the cows come home.  Hopefully in about two weeks we will see some green poking through.  I am so excited!!!!!  I'm not going to know how to act.