Tom had the day off, and took Scotter for the afternoon/evening to a Star Trek convention he is attending with a friend from out of town. It’s been a LONG time since I had this much free time! I created a long list last night in preparation, mostly it entailed organizing our home. I’m eager to get through all of our boxes, and clear out the garage. I’m sick of the line of boxes and tupperware lining my bedroom wall, and anxious for everything to have its place. 
Organizing makes me happy. And a well organized home brings me peace. Our new home has much less storage space than our last one, and I’m actually kind of excited to figure out more inventive ways of storing or doing away with our extra stuff. We purchased a shed through Craigslist this morning, that should allow us to store our lawnmower/bikes/strollers/lawn equipment and maybe some holiday decor? We’ll have to get creative. I’m VERY excited about it. Unfortunately, it’s a huge project. We’re going to place it on the side of our house that is currently a steep hill. Which means I need to come up with some fill dirt, and probably construct some sort of retaining wall. Sigh.

The jungle
I went to town on our backyard this week. Behind our yard is another hillside. One corner was covered densely with four overgrown rhodedendrohn, salal, and fern. I knew the Rodies would make an awesome “fort”, not to mention some good toddler climbing, so I was eager to clear it out for Scotland. I’m very happy with the results, and fortunately so is Scotland. When he awoke from his nap and I brought him outside I said, “Look Scotter, I pruned up the rhodedendron and added a rope so you can climb up there and make a fort, or climb in those trees!” He looked at it, and he looked somemore, and then he exclaimed “Wow!” I couldn’t have received a more pleasing review. 

In clearing out that corner I discovered that the steeper part of that hill has been overtaken by moles or gophers of some kind. Several large holes are surrounded by deep mounds of fresh dirt spilling down the hill. One ends at the base of the hill and made for a surprisingly delightful “sandbox” for Scotter. We pulled out the beach materials and he was in heaven. 

After the carnage- clearly still in the rough.
I’m eager to clear out the terraced section (where you can see the shovel above), so I can plant more cultivated and asthetic plants. I’m also hoping to add a slide! Our yard isn’t huge, so the more I can utilize that space the better! I’d like to add some flowering plants under the rhodie, and perhaps some colorful plants to trail down the rocks.