05 September 2011

Tyler's birthday trees

(The kids all got candy bar grams for school, so we decided Tyler needed in on the action for his birthday.)

It's not hard to please a guy on his birthday when we live on one acre of dirt and no domestic vegetation. The landscaping is slowly coming, but for a couple of weeks we've had our eyes on a Japanese maple at the nursery but couldn't justify buying yet . . . and then a birthday came along. We actually ended buying two Japanese maples and getting a really good deal.

Ty planted our first tree for his birthday and I was a little giddy. I couldn't believe how much it changed our yard. One little tree has made a huge difference and I can hardly wait to get more.
Later we took a drive to the foothills to harvest some scrub oak to put in the native areas of our yard.

Dear little trees:

I know it was hot when we viciously uprooted you from your home on the hill, but I hope you decide you like your new digs where the deer won't gnaw on you and where there will be plenty of water. I promise it won't be that hard.

With love, your devoted gardeners
And to continue with the birthday festivities, our neighbor invited Ty to hike Deseret Peak, a 9 mile hike with an elevation gain of about 3500 feet. I don't think Tyler knew what he was in for, but I'm so proud of him for doing something so hard. This hike took 5 hours round trip and he went with two guys who practically ran up the mountain (or so says Tyler). Once he was committed there was no turning back, but man, what some views from the top.




He may not want to ever do it again, but I'm game. I'll give him a year or two to recover and then see if he'll take me.

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