a lovely day

This past weekend was beautiful in Portland and we were able to take advantage of it nicely. We were up and out of the house early Saturday morning all bundled up and wondering how we were going to get from just above freezing to 70*. We walked over to Pistils Nursery to get our starts for the vegetable garden. Back at the house we cleaned out the back beds and planted our future harvest. Henry ate as much dirt as he could get before we moved him away. By the time we had the plants in the ground it was already warming up nicely. We made a late breakfast and opened up all the windows. After the afternoon naps we set out to find all the "Go By______" signs in Portland. Kate is redoing the boys room for the 97,145th time this month and these phots figure prominently. We took the train one stop down then walked across the Broadway bridge where we saw the Go By Train sign, then into the Pearl where the Go By Streetcar is. We took a streetcar towards NW 23rd where the Go By Cab sign is at the Cab depot. We walked back and got some Gelatto before walking back across the bridge and back home. We were sidetracked though by a fountain that Finn needed to play in. It was such a nice day in the midst of the cold winter and you can see the pictures of the day on the Flickr page.

A Sunday Garden

Sunday was project day for us and we set about turning a section of the backyard into a flower cutting garden for Kate. We started off the day with a fresh pot of coffee and a sausage scramble with some of Farmer Brown's eggs. Fed and caffeinated we went to Menards and got some supplies. Back at home El Finno was ready for a nap and Kate and I got busy removing the grass from a Kidney bean shaped area next to the garage. The ground was fairly wet but it was still hard work and 6 blisters and 2 hours later we had the space cleared. I used a lot of the removed grass in dirt to fill in the sink hole behind the garage, it might not be a permanent fix but at least none of the drunks will fall in as they stumble down our alley. I'm always looking out for the stumbling drunk! On the dugout bean we then laid a mixture of manure, peat moss, and vermiculite for the plants. Apparently all that stuff is plant crack and they really dig it. We then laid down a weed barrier over the space and fed the now awake baby before heading out again to Home Depot for the plants. Kate had drawn out a plan for the house and listed the flowers and shrubs that she wanted to Finn and I just played in the cart as she went around loading it up. Back at the house we planted the newly purchased flowers, shrubs, and apple tree in our little space and then covered the area with mulch. It turned out nice but at the end of the day I was beat and my hands are all tore up. There are still some plants to go in but it does look great and it felt very good to get started on the yard this spring, and on earth day no less. Pictures to come once I mow the lawn.

Updated: with photo goodness