Shifting Small Mountains....

in the backyard.
Because of our "renovations" I've been motivated to make some more changes and improvements in the backyard. So on the weekend we dove into the earth. Shifting dirt, rocks, stones and plants.
Sunday saw me "mattocking" and shovelling mounds of soil from a section of neglected, ugly and quite useless yard. Frankly I was tired of the "kangaroo track" that had developed down along one garden bed to the bottom of the yard and it just wasn't going to do any more, especially with our other building making things look so much better.


So I attacked it, dug, shifted and turned it into much more useful steps, using only recycled and scavenged stones from around the house.
Each stone in the top section I threw in by hand after literally thumbing them from the earth of that top garden bed, where they had been discarded, previously not needed, unused and until now forgotten. Some may call me crazy and my thumbs and skin are not thanking me but there was something meditative and hypnotic about plunging my hands into that moist brown substrate and fishing all those smooth stones out. There was a gleeful satisfaction with each hard find especially when anyone would think I had already pulled out every last one. Maybe I went a little nutty but I lost, and found, myself in the process.


The bottom section hubby and I had dug out and levelled as a team on Saturday. Our plan is to pave this part. It will be the grand entrance to our "extensions". (I'm sorry to keep you in such anticipation about the other work that has been going on. All will be revealed I promise but not before it is fully completed. It still needs a lick of paint and some further minor refurbishment. Well, it has to look perfect before I show it off.)
We moved what seemed like a small mountain of soil and managed to fill other new beds with it.....to be finished with the addition of nasturtiums and comfrey to keep our "girls" happy.

We also managed another raised circular bed for a future fruit tree to add to our loosely titled "orchard" (I say that with a bit of a giggle - we have quite a few fruit trees growing but they are spread out hither and tither amongst everything)....I'm undecided and torn between Bowen mango and citrus but am leaning strongly towards navel orange for this spot...the mango will have to find a home in another place that I have in mind. I'm glad hubby was around because there was no way I was going to manage even budging a couple of these rocks.

And between all the shifting of dirt and stone, while baby was awake and needing cuddles? Much more snow pea munching was enjoyed....by all of us!