Saturday, May 10, 2008

Trees and weeds

My arbor day trees came in the mail this week. I was so excited when I ordered them.... lots of different flowering trees, even a lilac. Memories of childhood abound when I smell a lilac. Playing at grandma's house with all the cousins, aunts and uncles. Running up and down hills, climbing trees and rock piles. Chasing dogs. Going to the river. Shucking corn. Picking peas. Summer!

Then this week I realized, holy cow! I have to plant these trees. Figure out where they go, dig holes, PLANT. I hate digging. But okay, I'll figure it out. So on my run this morning, I mapped out the yard and where all these cute trees would go. When I got home I thought I'd read the directions just in case. I'm no expert on these things by a long shot.

Hmmmm.... find someplace safe from critters and weeds and the lawnmower. Dig holes 2 feet apart for each of the 11 trees. Watch them grow for about 2 years. Transplant to the location you'd like the trees to live. 2 years? 11 holes? 2 feet apart? Without weeds? Who are they kidding?

I looked at the gardens. Well, let's just say weeding isn't my favorite pastime and you wouldn't be hard pressed to figure that out. So step one: weed. I spent two hours on hands and knees weeding that garden. I filled up 5- 5 gallon buckets with weeds. And it's still not done!

Maybe mom wants to plant the trees in her garden.

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