Hampster Dance in the Backyard

On the way home from the hospital I stopped by Pioneer and got a truckload of gorilla hair for the backyard. Technically I think this stuff is Washington cedar but anyone familiar with the look and function of this mulch knows why it's called by that name. I put some down on the side of the house and it looks great. We had some severe (and I mean severe - it ripped the gate of the hinges) wind the same night I laid it down and it didn't move an inch. It looks great - much better then rock in my opinion. In the next few days I'll make some holes in the mulch and set some walking stones up the side of the house so I can get to the water spigot, when needed. Although only functional, we'll be getting some window well safety covers for the kids too. Probably the best part about the mulch is the smell. About all I'm missing is a giant water bottle hanging upside down from the fence and a wheel...

The nursery also delivered and planted the Autumn Blaze Maple we purchased. It's the third of its kind on our lot. Since we have aspens and a cottonwood in the neighbor's yards (they turn yellow in the fall) we went for red. In addition, these guys grow really fast. Soon it will block most of the house behind us. Right now it's far from full since the leaves are just coming in. In a few weeks it won't look as Charlie Brown as it does now. You can see this tree out the back door all the way from the front door. It's positioned to where it will always be visible from the main area of the house. Space limitations not withstanding, I would have preferred the branches to start much lower like they do on the tree in the front yard. However, the current height allows for traffic immediately under the tree so it doesn't take up any yard space. Eventually it will get wider as it grows...I won't be trimming it narrow like nurseries do to maximize the number of trees they can cram into each row.

We're really getting close now...if only the weather would start feeling more like spring. We had a few minutes of snow again today and we may get a dusting in the early morning hours tonight. Rule 1 in Colorado: don't plant flowers until a week or two into May.