Garden Box in Place

Mystery Project

We finished up our weekend project at 9pm tonight.  It was a hot day, and we waited to start working again until after 6pm.

Some of you guessed what we were up to - getting rid of the dirt pile and also continuing our backyard beautification project.

So, without further ado, Here is our monster of a raised garden box.

And this is where we left things off with the dirt.  And behind the dirt and in front of the neighbors brick garage is where the raised bed will live.

Hike at Chautauqua Park

We worked on our project until 8pm last night. This morning we took a break from the house and headed to the hills with friends.

Wouldn't be the Weekend without a Project

Like Hot Cakes

These concrete edgers used to be in the front yard until we upgraded them last fall.   They have been hanging here in the backyard ever since.  

We posted them for free on Craigslist Sunday afternoon and in 2 hours they were gone.  We had multiple callers and when the first caller was loading them up, someone stopped by to ask if he was going to take them all (he did).  We never would have guessed there would be such interest.

Still need to work on that dirt...but otherwise things are shaping up around here!

GIAB: 1 Month

Garden in a Box

0 months:

1 month:

The tulips are gone and a few plants are blooming.  Everything is a little bigger.

Orange Globemallow

Colorado Shakes

We saw The Tempest last night at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.  

City Slicker Problems

We have this pile of dirt from all of the work in the front yard last summer/fall.  We received 2 quotes to have it hauled away this week to the tune of $400-500.  One company estimated 1.5 yards of dirt, the other 2.5 yards.

We have solicited our neighbors with no takers and posted it for free on Craigslist this morning.  We are not very hopeful there will be interest.

Anyone need some dirt?  It wouldn't be such a big deal, but we need to finish the other side of our front yard retaining wall which will only result in even.more.dirt.  And, we wanted to get rid of our current stockpile before we amass more.  It would almost be worth hiring someone to do the work so they haul the dirt away.  

We have thought about slowly putting it out for trash, beefing up our flower beds, spreading it out around the neighborhood one pocketful at a time a la Shawshank Redemption (only took him 20 years), throwing it over the fence into the rental properties 100% weed filled yard.  Not serious on the last one, although Erica did scout it out.  

Next step is checking out dumpster prices.  

Not Approved for General Audiences

This topic is not for the queasy: Zoey has a ruptured anal gland.

Dogs have two anal glands, located on either side of the anus.  The anal glands are responsible for excreting "scent".  Occasionally, these glands don't drain properly, and they have to be manually emptied.  Sometimes they can become infected. 

On Sunday morning, we noticed a lump on Zoey's rear end.  It was small and looked benign.  Our first thought was Zoey got stung by a bee.  She was acting normal, so we weren't too concerned.  We did Google this symptom and immediately stumbled upon a slew of anal gland articles.

We continued on with our day and the gland got larger and turned purplish in color by bedtime.  We decided to call the vet first thing Monday morning.  

Morning came and things didn't seem any worse, but Zoey was incessantly licking at her back end.  We scheduled an appointment for that afternoon and off to work we went.  When Erica returned home to go to the vet, the gland had ruptured through the skin!  That could not have felt good. 

The vet didn't seem too concerned and prescribed antibiotics and hot compresses.  If the gland was still intact, it would have had to have been lanced.  Apparently, it is not well known why this happens and a number of things had to happen in a sequence that will likely never be replicated.  We certainly hope it never recurs. 

Today, Z is doing well and her wound is looking much better, and this concludes the story of Zoey and her anal gland infection.  If you want visuals, you are welcome to Google this topic.  It's not pretty.

Garden Additions

Added these last four plants to the back yard yesterday.  Planting is done for the year!

Fathers Day Birds

Happy Fathers Day Jim and Roger!

Erica doesn't particularly like birds, but these are an exception.  We received three Red Birds in a Tree in our Garden in a Box  and this one just started blooming.  Pretty cute little guys, just like our dads.

Outlaws

Tonight we went to the Denver Outlaws match.  The Outlaws are a Major League LaCrosse team.  

Heart Walkers

New 'do

New hairdo.  It took me a couple days to get used to it.  It's about 2" all over on top.  Totally wash and wear.  My hair girl says the more product I use the better and to only wash my hair every third day.  We'll see how that all works out.

We Have Fruit!

We had a nice surprise this week when we spied these little beauties.  They are the only fruit on the tree.

The Morning in Pictures

We were out of the house by 7:45 headed to the Denver Performing Arts Center (DPAC) on our bikes to the Heart Walk   

This is "The Dancers" at the DPAC.  We had never been this close to them before.  They stand 50 feet tall.

On to the Heart Walk - a group from Erica's office put together a team.  It was a nice 3 mile stroll through downtown.  

On the way home, we stopped at the Higland Farmer's Market.  They had lots of good stuff, but with no cash or a good means to carry anything back, we moseyed on home empty handed.  We will be back.

So Fresh and So Green!

We are still getting rain and our yard hasn't looked better!  

A couple of the grasses along the back fence didn't make it this year.  The Moonshine Yarrow on the other hand, are huge!  A little too big, maybe.  Will be adding a few additional plants in some fun colors (pink and red), but not sure exactly what just yet.

Central Park

We spent our last day in Central Park.

Museums

On Memorial Day we spent the morning at the Museum of Modern Art and the afternoon at the 9/11 museum.  

These are pictures from the 9/11 museum.  Half of the museum honored those that lost their lives.  The other half was a timeline of the days events, the aftermath, history of Al Qaeda and details on the hijackers entrance into the U.S. and much more.  It was an overwhelming experience.

"No day shall erase you from the memory of time"

Unidentified and unclaimed remains from the attack are located in a repository behind this wall.

Across the Brooklyn Bridge

It was a crowded walk across the bridge.  Amazing views.  

We had a leisurely stop in Brooklyn, grabbed some pizza for lunch, and took the subway back to Times Square.

The National Debt Clock

The debt clock was very near our hotel and one of the last things we saw some nights.  Complete with your Families Share of the debt calculation.  

Grand Central Terminal

There were constellations painted on the ceiling.