Zivah Has Some New Tricks

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Baby Birds

We have quite a few baby birds around the house this year:

Pics of the Fence

This is my least favorite aspect of the fence: the interrupted view of our 'Narnia area'...

The neighbor's hedge helps disguise the fence along the property line.

The garden so far. It's so much easier to tend a garden when you aren't pregnant.

Weekend Update

Yesterday was spent in the sun. Chris put up the chain link fence in back, and I weeded and planted most of the vegetable garden. It's raining outside today, and it is almost like I am getting a forced day of rest, as this time of year I am driven to work outside. It is Sunday after all, so I guess that is a good excuse to ignore the laundry for the day.

The fence is going to be hard for me to get used to. The back yard looks like it has shrunk considerably, and I am going to have to take a major detour to get from the garden to the compost bin. (Maybe not so major, but nothing like the straight line I was used to.) In the end, I conceded to Chris's reasoning: Strays will be kept out, Zivah won't be able to just toddle off to the creek when she starts walking, and Chris like that there is a psychological and physical barrier for those wandering through the neighborhood who might be up to no good. He also thinks it will be another selling point for the house. Still, I am already looking forward to the day when (if) we move out of the city and fences will only be to keep animals in and not people. Where the yard used to have an expansive feel and natural boundaries, I feel a little boxed in. Make that a lot boxed in.

I would post pictures of the new fence, but, like I said, it is raining.

Speaking of pictures, this past month, Chris spent a few weekend days working on the plumbing for the bathroom renovation going on at my brother's house. In payment, my brother gave us his old digital camera as he recently bought an upgrade. For us, it was a major upgrade in photographic equipment. After dabbling for years in photography, it was hard for me to let go of my film camera and use the little digital click and shoot we were given. And I wasn't quite satisfied with the idea of buying a mid-grade camera.

So, now that I have a camera that can take decent photos again, you might start seeing a ridiculous amount of photos of my garden and the kids. Or random things that catch my eye. Here are two:

Above is a photo of my first good radish of the year. I love radishes. They make me feel as if I really know how to garden, as they germinate rapidly and don't take long to grow. I only wish there were more than a few ways to eat them. Maybe I should try to come up with a radish soup recipe...

The kids after a bath in the afternoon light that comes through their bedroom window.

Success

Never mind that he denied the fact he needed to go (I could tell by that panicked look on his face), that I had to carry him in there, that I left him sitting there crying, or that he urinated all over the bathroom in the process... at least it landed where it was supposed to for once. It is cause for celebration, and I think he's proud of himself... or at least relieved that it is over (for now).

The Fence

This past weekend we spent putting up a picket fence. With success. Chris and I almost strangled worked well together, and only one child was injured (ever so slightly) in the process when Joe was bumped in the head by a falling 2x4 (after repeated warnings to stay back).


We are pleased. It gives a little sense of security without feeling too boxed in. I hope to cut in a flower bed just to the right of the gate to break up the monotony of the fence, but figured since I'm feeling a tad overwhelmed as it is, the flower bed can wait until fall or next spring.