Survival

The sun comes up, warm and bright. It is spring and plants burst forth waving green flags, bright and new, to announce that they did not succumb to winter's chill.
All of the apple saplings in my yard have survived their first winter, a good omen for my fledgling garden, and some day lilies are beginning to poke their way through the soil. It will be an exciting year for this digger.

Unfortunately, my little lawn has suffered some from my inexperience. There are many dead patches which I am attributing to white grubs preparing for hibernation last fall. I'm not sure what to do about them just yet. In the meantime, I've aerated the remaining grass and topdressed it with compost.

Field of Daydreams

I greatly dislike grass. It's everywhere, produces nothing of use, and, especially in the desert, consumes a lot of resources.

However, my dad is a major advocate of the all american lawn. He's been trying to convince me that my yard isn't complete without a patch of green for my daughter to run around on. He finally won me over by offering to pay for sprinklers and sod, as a present to his granddaughter.
So, for the past month, I've been hard at work digging trenches, laying pipes, amending the soil, and finally putting down grass.
Now, at very least, I guess I have a use for the lawn mower dad gave me for my birthday two years ago.