Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Spring cleanup

Two of the best smells? Wood smoke and spring air. Last night we experienced both.

Andrew is a lumberjack. He has a passion for chainsaws and cutting trees, resulting in brush piles that could challenge sky scrapers. Though lawn mowing isn't quite in season, we've prepared for it by extending the yard another ten feet west - by way of fallen trees and blazing brush piles. I'm not a fan of monstrous yards ( I don't mind mowing, but I like the privacy a canopy of oaks offers). However, the moment my husband spies even a single dead leaf, I can kiss that particular tree good-bye.

We had two of these giant stacks out back until last night when the yard expansion project began. Andrew & I hauled sticks while Oliver helped cut down on the load by eating his share. It was actually quite pleasant to get out in the fresh spring breeze and do some hard work. I love togetherness.

And when the piles were loaded high, they were ignited. A beautiful sight - Olives was mesmerized. So was I.

The work didn't stop there, though. Next came the poking and the pushing and the watching and the sweating. Glorious. The pay off? Today we smell like well roasted marshmallows and our eyebrows are singed. Our cheeks are still rosy from catching the glow of the fire, and we're one step closer to connecting yards with our neighbor.

5 comments:

moren blog said...

sounds like a blast! olives is such a great help. your life. your life.
love, anna

angie said...

hehehe i love this! sounds like a productive and fun afternoon!

Jill said...

So cute! I love roasted marshmallows!!

carol said...

you made me smile again.

Jolene said...

Maybe this is a little dorky - but wouldn't it be fun to have a virtual home tour of cousin's houses? I would love to see your home and have that mental picture while I read your blogs... it's just a thought. I know my place would need much sprucing before I posted any pics of it! LOL!