Plant your garden
The front yard of the Big Ugly House has never been, um, beautiful. In fact, it fits under the 'big and ugly' category rather nicely. There are some things about it that I have detested for the 12+ years we've lived here, yet we still haven't done anything about them. Well, this is the year that we start to work on it.
There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that there are no new babies or children in the house this summer. I can actually think about it and have the energy to help. Next is that we had a little money left over from our tax refund (after spending the rest of it on glamorous things such as insurance and eye appointments and more insurance) and we decided that investing in our yard would be a good use of this money. (I am finding out that gardening is a very expensive hobby. I'm still suffering a bit from sticker shock.) Finally, I didn't want another 12 years to go by and still not have done anything.
This is a little silly, really, because the odds of us being in this house in 12 years are incredibly slim. The truth is, we just can't afford the taxes. (And trust me, they're a lot. When I tell people not from the area what they are, the stunned silence lasts for a good long time.) Yet we still don't have a really good plan in place as to what we should do. We've been in this limbo for several years and we are hopeful that it won't last another several years before we are able to formulate a workable plan.
I don't like living in limbo... that feeling of not wanting to do or start something on the house because we just aren't sure what the future holds. So I've decided to just live in the present and not try to figure out what is worth doing based on the amount of time I imagine we will have left in this house. To that end, we went to the local nursery this morning to pick out some fruit trees and plants. (I've wanted to grow fruit for a long time now.) We purchased some blueberry bushes, two apple trees, and two ornamental trees for either side of the front steps. (There is a lot of digging in B.'s future.)
Buying and planting fruit trees feels like a pretty significant investment in the future. I have no idea how many of those apples and blueberries we will be able to enjoy. But if we are still here in two years, I won't have to look back and kick myself for not planting earlier. And the whole thing is pretty Biblical as well. When the Israelites went into exile in Babylon, God instructed them to plant their gardens. Even though it was promised they would return to Israel in the future, God wanted them to live in their current place without a temporary mindset.
We have no idea what our future holds, but for now, we're going to focus on the present and do things which are pleasing and good for our family. Such as planting trees.
There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that there are no new babies or children in the house this summer. I can actually think about it and have the energy to help. Next is that we had a little money left over from our tax refund (after spending the rest of it on glamorous things such as insurance and eye appointments and more insurance) and we decided that investing in our yard would be a good use of this money. (I am finding out that gardening is a very expensive hobby. I'm still suffering a bit from sticker shock.) Finally, I didn't want another 12 years to go by and still not have done anything.
This is a little silly, really, because the odds of us being in this house in 12 years are incredibly slim. The truth is, we just can't afford the taxes. (And trust me, they're a lot. When I tell people not from the area what they are, the stunned silence lasts for a good long time.) Yet we still don't have a really good plan in place as to what we should do. We've been in this limbo for several years and we are hopeful that it won't last another several years before we are able to formulate a workable plan.
I don't like living in limbo... that feeling of not wanting to do or start something on the house because we just aren't sure what the future holds. So I've decided to just live in the present and not try to figure out what is worth doing based on the amount of time I imagine we will have left in this house. To that end, we went to the local nursery this morning to pick out some fruit trees and plants. (I've wanted to grow fruit for a long time now.) We purchased some blueberry bushes, two apple trees, and two ornamental trees for either side of the front steps. (There is a lot of digging in B.'s future.)
Buying and planting fruit trees feels like a pretty significant investment in the future. I have no idea how many of those apples and blueberries we will be able to enjoy. But if we are still here in two years, I won't have to look back and kick myself for not planting earlier. And the whole thing is pretty Biblical as well. When the Israelites went into exile in Babylon, God instructed them to plant their gardens. Even though it was promised they would return to Israel in the future, God wanted them to live in their current place without a temporary mindset.
We have no idea what our future holds, but for now, we're going to focus on the present and do things which are pleasing and good for our family. Such as planting trees.
Comments
If you'd like some shade perennials, I have some to share!