Growing Up

I remember how bare the yard was when we first moved into the house. I tried to imagine a gorgeous well manicured yard. It was a long time in coming. We planted our grass and then dug parts of it up to start new gardens. We made a play area for the children and later turned it into a parking area. We lovingly planted fruit trees and roses. Some thrived and others succumbed to insects and diseases. We laid out a boardwalk and planted our vegetables. We had lived in the house about 10 years, when one afternoon, I watched a gentleman hang a "For Sale" sign on the fence of the property behind us. We had loved watching the horses that ran the field. I kind of giggled to myself because- who was going to see that sign besides us? We talked about purchasing the little piece and adding it to our yard. It was land locked, who else would he sell it to? He wanted $2000.00 dollars for it, but Steve laughed and offered him $1200.00. It was a sweet deal. The 1/4 acre was covered with Russian olive brambles. They weren't trees just messy menacing bushes. After Steve carefully put a new fence around the property and cut  the old one away- what fun I had trimming up the trees and imagining all the fun we could have. It was like a piece of heaven. We loved to kick back and relax , 'out of town'. The dividing line between Centerville and West Bountiful was the old fence line (and still is!) We installed a large fire pit and enjoyed many Dutch oven meals out there. We constructed a band stand and held a neighborhood dance out there. I loved to hang a hammock between the trees and relax on fine summer days.  We had swim parties, raised a cow and housed a horse for a short while. We have spent almost 30 years in this house and spent 30 years designing  and redesigning that yard. The trees are large and wonderful. The patio is my very favorite place to be. We still look at all we are blessed with and think of new ways to improve it. It is a very different place than it was when we first cut the fence and started to sculpt the trees into our outdoor fairy tale castle. The lessons that I have learned from our experiences help me with the growing experiences I have had through life. There are blessing in the yard.