The Barking Barkers and Fathers Day

Summertime means lots of yard work. Our June project has been re-barking—what a doozy. We shopped for bark (3 nurseries) and spent a week of evenings weeding inside curbs and digging out and trimming the weed barrier. We considered having the bark blown in like 4 years ago, but decided to try dispersing 7 cubic yards (delivered by J&L) ourselves due to the need for “specialized placement.” We spent 4 hours on Friday night and probably 8 hours on Saturday, in between 3 cloudbursts, to get rid of the pile by loading, transporting, shoveling and raking. Dad doesn’t know how many trips he made up the steep hill with wheelbarrow loads and I don’t know how many rock crevices I hand-stuffed from a bucket, but it was a lot in both cases. We’re pleased with the results, but unfortunately we’re not done. We’ll have to order another 4 cubic yards, probably, to finish all the way around the fence up top, the front yard rocks and the west side. Oh goody. Our muscles are sore, but it sure does smell good!

Sunday meant Father’s Day and we enjoyed filet mignons on the BBQ with baked potatoes (sour cream, chives, cheddar cheese, and bacon bits), Rhodes Texas rolls, and a great salad bar brought by the darling daughters. (Thanks!) After presents and Snickerdoodles and ice cream (Dad’s favorite Blue Bunny Tracks), the Stansbury Barkers arrived for a classic game of Croquet. Baron won’t forget his roquet-croquet to the ball of his foot (ouch!) or the one which sent Dad’s ball flying from the tip top, down two levels to the raspberry bushes. Although Baron was the first to become poison, Abram also became poison and finished off the last three players with one awesome shot…3 with one blow! Congrats! Brie and Colby had fun wielding the mallets while Donette and I took photos.

The pile of bark.

Wheelbarrow Man.

Precise placement.

The "before" shot...notice the black weed barrier in the foreground and up the hill and the gray bark.

The "after" shot...no more weed barrier and a fresh chocolate brown covering.

The girls assembling the salad.

Dad the "Chef de BBQ."

Father and future fun...washing the cars.

Colby and Henry the Train.

3 generations in the berry patch. First fruits of the 2009 season...only a teasing handful for the moment.

Let the game begin. Mother and daughter.

Autumn and the "velour" ball & mallet.

Mr. Blue.

Autumn sharing with Colby.

Zoog...coordinated...all black.

The power stroke to try to make it up the hill without hitting the curb and rolling back down.

And the winner is....Abram with a 3-fer!!!

A shot of the berry bushes...loaded this year...they must have liked the cool, cloudy days.

Front yard showing off its colors last week.

Weigela (why-gee-la) or as we call it, the wigglia.

Potentilla.

Yep, those are the baby shamrocks that went to Phoenix and Las Vegas in the tiny pot...about 1 month after transplanting, they've gone crazy!