Back Asswards

Last Summer

in lieu of a vacation

we decided to get an above ground pool...

which in and of itself is rather funny

since we aren't annual travellers to begin with.

We had the perfect spot for it...

right in our backyard

off the deck.

Installed...filled...solar covered...waited for warmth.

I don't know if you're aware

but apparently in order for a solar cover

to work properly

it requires sun.

Our backyard is primarily shaded.

The pool never got over 75 degrees...one word...

brrrrrr.

It hurt to do it.

I tried to get up, shower, and go to church...

before I had to witness it.

But they arrived early!

Some may think I'm weird

(others know it for a fact)

but to think I was destroying a critters habitat...

well...suffice it to say I didn't get much sleep the night before...

just thinking about it.

The tree stump you see on the left

came from a silver maple

that we were told needed to come down

before it dropped on our house.

Unfortunately, it was one of the anchors for our

hammock and zip-line.

We left it at about 8 feet so it could still do its job.

When I noticed one of the workers

and his young son

digging through the innards

of the gutted tree

I came down to see what they had found.

Bait.

Jeremiah told me he was going

fishing at his uncles and he thought these

would help him catch the big one!

Best of luck to you, Jeremiah.

Later, Rudy called me outside

because Joey had something to show me.

Joe likes all things dangerous.

Height means nothing to him...never has...

which freaks a mom out!

I told him he should go to tree trimming school.

We were told to cap-off that stump to prevent rotting.

Rudy is going to build a big bird hotel...

the least we can do since we destroyed many homes

in our quest for sun.

We...well, Rudy and the boys

(I needed to go to church...badly)

took care of the clean-up and saved a couple hundred

bucks by doing so.

They are going to split that pile

and sell it roadside

as campfire wood.

With grounds just north of us

they might make a few dollars.

I'm thinking they should go into the bait selling business, too!

Well...

We wanted it

and now we've got it!

A sunny backyard oasis.

With a pool that is up to 74 degrees.

I'm positive that one of my newest projects

will involve creating a shading system

for the deck.

Kids swimming... for me...

toe dipping temperatures.

What a relief...

when I woke this morning I opened the window to birds chirping a little forgiveness song.

Amen.