Fall 2008 November 2008 - The "jungle" of bushes at the far end of our yard were removed, and.... ...the new bed slowly began to take shape. But Winter was on its way, and....... ....by the next morning (November 28), it looked like this! Snow covered the site for the next two and a half months! (You've got to like living in Iowa!) What a mess! Fast forward to March 2009 - over a ton of Anamosa limestone is delivered, but how to get it to the backyard? A fortuitous late snowstorm on March 29 (and a sled) solved the problem! (photo taken at 8 AM) 11 AM on the same day! 3 PM on the same day! Brother-in-law Tim builds the wall in 6 hours! Note the raised beds in our neighbor's yard. The bed was filled with soil, and.... ....the surrounding area was prepared for seeding Covers promoted grass seed germination. A few weeks later, ... ... the bed was prepared for seedling planting. Removing the covers revealed the new grass. 475 seedlings grown since December under lights Planting begins! Susie begins work on the upper bed, watched by Scooter, our Yorkie. 200 seedlings were planted in the lower bed. By May 28, the task is complete! Time to finish planting the top bed! 100 seedlings fill the top bed. June 12 June 22 July 7 July 9 July 19 July 19 July 19 July 19 July 19 July 19 July 19 July 27 August 11 August 15 September 1 September 23 October 7 October 10 - A small taste of things to come! October 24 October 24 October 24 October 24 - The new seedlings die back more slowly than the mature plants. October 31 November 7 Susie puts in a request....... .......and, on December 12, it was granted! Maybe she should have asked for a little less! December 27 - Snow keeps coming! January 7- No end in sight! Enough's enough, ..... ....forget the daylilies for a while, let's play ham radio! Back