Fantasy vs. Reality

Looking back at my Earth Day post from last year, I'm reflecting on what I accomplished in 2009 and what my plans are for this year. This really is the best time of year - everything holds the promise of success, with none of the reality yet attached. In my mind, everything I set out to do in the new year will be bigger and better than I can imagine. My garden will fill in and bloom beautifully, we will complete multiple home improvement projects around the house and our team at work will exceed every goal we have set. I'm going to stick with that theory for as long as possible, and who knows, maybe it will all be true! In the meanwhile, here's wrap up of how I did against last year's plans....

1. Fantasy - Grow veggies and herbs in three raised beds. Reality - Too much shade! I knew one of my beds was overly shaded by an apple tree, but didn't realize the other two get too much shade from the adjacent fence. I got a few green beans, but otherwise, nothing - and I do mean nothing, grew past seedling status. I admitted my defeat a few months in. My other idea, to plant my herbs in a half wine barrel in the only sunny spot in my yard (which is a patio area) worked well - I will do that again this year. I also kept a small Meyer Lemon alive and it's blooming like crazy right now so I hope for lots of lemons next winter!

2. Fantasy - Preserve the bounty of veggies that I planned to grow. Reality - See #1. I could have done some canning with my CSA fruits and veggies, but never managed to plan and get my act together.

3. Fantasy - Get rain barrels. Reality - Haven't yet convinced my husband. They will be in a very visible spot in the backyard that he doesn't approve of. My argument is that they will only be there in the winter and if we put them on a platform with wheels, they can be moved around in the summer time when there is no rain. This is a work in progress...

4. Fantasy - Ride my bike all over town for recreation and errands alike. Reality - I ride my bike all over town for recreation and errands alike!! Success! My lack of bicycle riding skills led me to purchase a new, cruiser style bike with only one set of gears and a basket on front. This turned out to be the perfect idea - I'm now up to riding 10 miles 2-3 times per week. Yay me!

Okay - One out of four is not the best track record. However, there are always things that happen during the year that you don't plan on but turn out to be successful endeavors. The two major ones for us turned out to be our rock water feature/pond project and, the one I'm even more proud of, kicking the fast food habit! Its been long enough now, I think I can officially say I've quit eating fast food - I haven't hit a drive through since last July which is a real accomplishment for me.

So what do I have planned this year? I'll save that for another post as I'm still working on the priority list. Plus, I'm going to the San Francisco Plant & Garden Show in March and will probably come home with more ideas than time or money will allow for....I'm saving up already!

The Rock...

Well, well, well....here I am again - on the blog. I had to blow off the dust and clear out the cobwebs, but it's still standing. And after 2009, so am I (barely...) That being said, I have lots to catch you up with here on Lathwell. After living here for two and a half years, we finally dismantled and rebuilt the fountain (that never really was) in our backyard.

To share some background, our suburban backyard came with what appeared to be a defunct fountain in the middle of the backyard. It really is the centerpiece of the yard and can be seen from all the large windows both upstairs and down. I've looked at this ugly monstrosity since we moved in and have really wanted to replace it with something colorful and pretty since we first set eyes on this place. So, for over two years, I have been looking for the perfect ceramic pot to make a bubbling fountain in the middle of the yard. And then.....

....my husband got involved. To be fair, I needed him for this project. He is the handiest person I know - and I know lots of handy people! And, considering he lives here, I gave him some obligatory input on my bubbling fountain project. He wasn't big on the pot idea and really wanted a large natural rock instead. I protested for a few months and then relented to "just go look" at the big rocks. Of course, we came across the most beautiful rock that we could both agree on - and negotiated on the price to make it somewhat reasonable (although not as affordable as my bubbling pot). And then the real project began.

After more arguing, or rather, discussion, about the project, my schmoopy added another element, insisting that our dog really needs a swimming pool (he kind of does...) and that there should be a pond for the fountain to trickle into instead of my preferred rock garden. So....in the end, I lost every argument and ended up with a beautiful fountain and pond in my backyard. I keep joking that all I wanted was a bubbling fountain, but really, this is pretty amazing. The birds love it, the dog loves it and we love it...what could be better? Okay, it's official - and I'm putting it in print - he was right....I was wrong.

While we typically work together in matters of home improvement, almost everything on this project was done by my husband Dennis. I did unload a ton (really, a TON) of rock from the truck and his friend Zach helped for a couple days, but other than that, it was two months of evenings and weekends for my hard working husband....thanks honey! Here's the photographic evidence:

The "before" picture. As it turns out, water and power had been run to this fountain, but never connected. This thing was never a working fountain.

During demolition. It was a combination of an air hammer, sledgehammer and a strong back (not mine, of course)

The area is prepped, underlayment down, bricks set, level and ready for the rock delivery.

The rock is set. 900 pounds...four men...and me with a camera. Note that we only dug out the area for the rock initially to make it easier to place. The pond was dug after the rock was placed.

And....completion! For some reason, I didn't get any pictures of the rock stacking. I think I was hostile for the entire month that was happening as a new load of rock was coming home in Dennis' truck every other day. I believe I murmured something about bubbling pots under my breath and in my sleep around this time. But obviously, it ended up a success - thank god the dog likes it as much as we do. Now....bring on the plants!