FIRST YARD WORK OF THE YEAR

This post is about Sunday's activities.  It was an outside workday.  Our weather forecast is for pretty severe storms this week, starting today actually, with lots of rain.  It most likely will be far too wet to mow this coming weekend. 

John Deere X320

The Big Green Zen Machine (John Deere mower for those new to the blog) was taken to the shop for its annual matinenance.  This year, for the first time, we had it detailed (I thought they only did that to cars, ha!).  They brought it back shiny and clean...it's 4 years old now and looks almost like it did the day we first brought it home.  

So here are some random property pictures.  

This is part of the front "yard".  The grass here was tall, very tall.  Now it's all neat and orderly.  I also edged along the fence line and the barns so no tall grass along the sides.  We love a "clean looking yard".   Nope, I haven't planted anything in the pots yet with the trellises.  I'll have to work on that for this Spring.  Something that flowers but won't attach to the walls (they are still too new to start having things grow on them, ha). 

 Here is just one of the many trails I mow.  At one point a couple of years ago, this was all the same from one side to the other.  Just imagine all that on the left all the way filling up the picture to the other side and back to behind the trees.  I have gradually been clearing it, a little bit at a time.  I've done this all over the property to create trails. 

Here is the driveway, from down near 2nd Family's house looking toward our house and it's about halfway done at this point.  

 And here it is looking from the other end, from our house back toward where I took the previous picture.  We love a neatly cut driveway.  It always make a good first impression, and makes us feel like there is not as much to do. 

Mowing before

Here is part of the "backyard".  I was mowing and realized I didn't have any "before" pictures so I stopped and took this with my phone.  

Mowing after

 ...and here is that same spot after.  I let the grass clippings go back into the grass, it helps fertilize and spreads seed around.  Sure, probably weeds too but hey, we'll take whatever green we can get, ha!!

Texas Wildflowers

And as a bonus for reading through this post, here are some wildflowers that have started growing across the road from us.  SO pretty.  Texas is known for its wildflower season and it's coming soon...actually sooner rather than later.  We were seeing some Indian Paintbrush (an orange wildflower) coming up at the end of FEBRUARY!  I checked the blog history and this is the earliest time I've ever had to mow at the farm. 

This was definitely a Winter for the record books, the "mildest" record.