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Friday, September 09, 2011

Friday Favorite Five



Time for another Friday Favorite Five which is hosted weekly by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

For the past two weeks our yard has undergone some MAJOR transformations. This past Spring some of our very tall fir trees started to topple in our yard, some nearly missing our house. So we decided to have them all taken down and then we'd replant. Step One was having over a dozen trees felled. It's kinda sad seeing them go and it's made the yard look so very different. But I'm very grateful for the following:

1. No one was hurt in the felling of trees. It's kinda scary when you see gigantic trees crashing to the ground. Branches missed faces and tree trunks missed trucks. Everyone is safe.

You can see some of the trees of the trees (the middle sections of them anyway!) that we took down in the following picture. You can also see one of the cherry trees in the "thicket."




2. Dragging logs out of our "thicket" area created a very cool path which we decided to make official. So we cleared out the weeds, blackberry bushes and several wild rhododendrons and are laying out bark dust in order to have an official trail.

3. We're kinda-not-really-at-all yard people. We have done more exploring of our yard this year more than any other and in doing so we discovered about six cherry trees - with cherries on them! (I'm putting a picture here to see if anyone else can identify them. We haven't been able to yet. They have firm skins, are very sweet, but on the small side. They aren't tart like I understand "pie cherries" to be. They seem like they could be more mature in the future now that we know the trees are there and can care for them.



All that to say - this past week we discovered three ADDITIONAL trees, giving us about 9-10 altogether. A mini orchard! It's so awesome!

4. Once I cut back the new growth on the blackberry bushes, I discovered a healthy stock of growing berries. Now exposed to the sun, we're getting a nice little crop for our breakfasts in the morning.

5. Forest Stew. With a more friendly yard (minus blackberries & poison oak) the kids are outside playing more. I picked up some cooking utensils at Goodwill for $0.99 a piece (i.e., a few pots, pans, hand mixers and funny looking tools that baffle even me!) and the kids have been making "forest stew." (They feed it to the gnomes & fairies. Oh yes! I love it!) It's so fun to watch them having fun outside. It's so fun to be taking dominion over the land.

Feeling blessed and just a wee bit sore this week. =)

See ya next week!

Blessings,

Carrie

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love that gnomes and fairies live in your yard!

Jerralea said...

I love the idea of "Forest Stew." I remember as a kid loving the woods behind our house ...

How neat to discover your own "mini orchard!" I love wild cherries and berries.

Barbara H. said...

We've had a couple f trees taken out -- I know what you mean about the potential danger. One of ours was near a power line, and thankfully it was maneuvered down in pieces to protect the lines and other trees and house. Glad everything went okay!

That's neat about having fresh cherries and blueberries, and I love the "forest stew."

Susan@FruitfulWords said...

Love your week of finding new blessings like a mini orchard, berry laden bushes and newly laid bark path. And of course great news that no person or property was hurt in the finding of these blessings.

I have an image of your children exploring, playing with fairies and cooking for the gnomes. Makes me smile.

Lisa notes... said...

That's a lot of trees! Glad you are getting it all taken care of now before worse things happen. And getting to explore your yard. Always fun. :-)

Stephanie said...

So jealous of those cherry trees. :)

Hazel said...

A mini orchard, kids playing and giving the gnomes and fairies forest stew - you have a fairytale yard! How beautifully enchanting!

Gattina said...

That must be scary when trees fall down ! and what lots of fruits you found. I am not a green thumb type either !

Faith said...

how cute...gnomes and fairies...love the children's play!
and how fun to discover your mini orchard...what a blessing!

Susanne said...

The first time I ordered the chopping down of a huge tree I cried as I watched it come down even though it was the ugliest thing and totally in the way. Glad yours came down safely without any incidents.

A backyard for kids to play in is awesome. It sounds like they are already taking advantage of it. Enjoy all your fruit.

ellen b. said...

Ha! Love the Forest Stew idea. We're not yard people around my house. There is so much that could be done...oh well. Glad the tree felling went well. Enjoy your berrie bounty!

bekahcubed said...

I'm not a yard person either, but I wish I were. I'm finding it hard not to envy your abundance. Cherry trees and berries and a path? Amazing!

Jientje said...

Cherries and blueberries, straight from your garden, that would be a fave for me too! I like the forest stew!

nikkipolani said...

It's like The Secret Garden you're stumbling onto! That's so neat. And glad no one was hurt with the felling of the firs.

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