Sweat Equity
I'm actually looking forward to a rainy day. Just not on Monday because we're having a picnic. The weather has been spectacular lately, so I've been outside gardening and landscaping. My poor little house has gotten a bit neglected on the interior. But who can deny going outside in this beautiful weather!?
My son is just loving it, too. We had picnics and he helped with the yardwork. He has his own kid-sized John Deere wheelbarrow and garden tool set, so he gladly works alongside me. My daughter just loves to pick dandelions and chew on the stems. Today, she ventured around the yard discovering this and that. She even climbed the newly dumped sand pile.
Hubby and I wandered the yard admiring our sweat equity and discussing future projects. Hubby has a great idea for extending one of our stone walls and creating a shade garden grotto of sorts. The nice thing about our sweat equity is that it's cheap. We have a pie-shaped piece of property that was lined on two sides with an old, tumbled down stone wall. We've been repairing the wall and the farm next door gladly supplies us with more rocks for it. When a tree company was taking down trees in our neighborhood, I was able to receive a free truckload of chips and used them in the mulch landscaping around our yard. Upon cleaning out the yard of over growth, we discovered hidden treasures, such as a rambling rose bush that's weaving in and out of one of our stone walls like a tiny portion of an English secret garden. Wildflowers abound and we have an abundance of English Ivy, which is a non-native, invasive weed, but actually VERY pretty. We have wild morning glories, too in a delicate white. Daffodils, lily of the valley, and various ferns round out our little slice of God's Creation.
I love being so involved in the blessing of our property that God gave us. As I added English lavender, rosemary and pennyroyal to my herb garden, I noticed that it's such bliss to walk down the little paths and enjoy the fruits of my labor. I can't imagine that anyone who just had their land professionally landscaped and never so much as got a fingertip in their own dirt enjoys their property as much as I do. Admittedly, I drive by these McMansions with vast expanses of grass, just grass, and I could wring their necks for not doing a thing with such a blessing! Plant a tree!
We put sweat equity into our little cottage, too. My newest freebie blessing is that my mom has offered me her desk. I've been wanting a writing desk and now I have one offered to me. I just have to figure where to put it! God has provided so much for me. Now, I wonder if He'll provide me with a small piano? I know He can. There's no question of that. But, oh, to find a small piano that'll fit in my house, like the piano fortes of Jane Austen's time. Hmmmmm.....
My son is just loving it, too. We had picnics and he helped with the yardwork. He has his own kid-sized John Deere wheelbarrow and garden tool set, so he gladly works alongside me. My daughter just loves to pick dandelions and chew on the stems. Today, she ventured around the yard discovering this and that. She even climbed the newly dumped sand pile.
Hubby and I wandered the yard admiring our sweat equity and discussing future projects. Hubby has a great idea for extending one of our stone walls and creating a shade garden grotto of sorts. The nice thing about our sweat equity is that it's cheap. We have a pie-shaped piece of property that was lined on two sides with an old, tumbled down stone wall. We've been repairing the wall and the farm next door gladly supplies us with more rocks for it. When a tree company was taking down trees in our neighborhood, I was able to receive a free truckload of chips and used them in the mulch landscaping around our yard. Upon cleaning out the yard of over growth, we discovered hidden treasures, such as a rambling rose bush that's weaving in and out of one of our stone walls like a tiny portion of an English secret garden. Wildflowers abound and we have an abundance of English Ivy, which is a non-native, invasive weed, but actually VERY pretty. We have wild morning glories, too in a delicate white. Daffodils, lily of the valley, and various ferns round out our little slice of God's Creation.
I love being so involved in the blessing of our property that God gave us. As I added English lavender, rosemary and pennyroyal to my herb garden, I noticed that it's such bliss to walk down the little paths and enjoy the fruits of my labor. I can't imagine that anyone who just had their land professionally landscaped and never so much as got a fingertip in their own dirt enjoys their property as much as I do. Admittedly, I drive by these McMansions with vast expanses of grass, just grass, and I could wring their necks for not doing a thing with such a blessing! Plant a tree!
We put sweat equity into our little cottage, too. My newest freebie blessing is that my mom has offered me her desk. I've been wanting a writing desk and now I have one offered to me. I just have to figure where to put it! God has provided so much for me. Now, I wonder if He'll provide me with a small piano? I know He can. There's no question of that. But, oh, to find a small piano that'll fit in my house, like the piano fortes of Jane Austen's time. Hmmmmm.....
Comments
That's so cool about your husband looking for work in Texas! I'm excited to see what may come of all this...
Apart from our matched and undying love for Pansies and Violas, we do have varying tastes in garden foliage.
I have massive and I mean MASSIVE amounts of Jewelweed everywhere. I used to hate the stuff, but now I know it's a very good herb. Although, I haven't found a thing to suggest that English Ivy is in any way beneficial.
I'm excited too!