Sod

For Father's Day this year, the kids and I told Kevin he could go buy some sod for the yard, which is something he's wanted to do for a long time now. We have lots of pine trees, which both block sunlight and continuously drop needles and pine cones (The pine cones drop like GRENADES from 100 feet up!). We also have a dog who likes to run fast and furiously, tearing up the grass with his nails like he's a tiller, when he's working to protect us from "certain danger." So the yard has taken a beating and needed a patch job.

Two days ago Kevin finally went and purchased the sod, filling the back of our minivan with wet grass and mud and bugs. (Glad he took the tarp!) In lieu of going to work out at the Y that day, I decided to offer my services in the yard. It was actually a lot of fun, especially since the weather was so nice, and there weren't any mosquitoes out. The work was hard, but it felt good.

Even little Katie did a lot to help! She was mainly in charge of watering with the hose, but she did help me "carry" a few pieces of sod. Oh yes--and she was in charge of stomping on top of each piece after it was lain down, making sure it was good and in place. I was proud of her. She worked well and had a lot of fun doing it. She did take breaks now and then--laying in the sun, resting in the hammock, playing in the van, and having me pick her up so that she could pick berries off a tree.

The effort took a few hours. We were dirty and tired. But then we stood back to admire the finished product . . .

It looked like a bad toupee.

The squares of sod were obviously a different color than the rest of the yard. They were more yellow. We are told this is normal and not to worry--that it's a process, and the reward will come in the spring when it all starts looking the same. We hope so. While we were laying the sod, one of our neighbors named Mr. Bass came walking by. (He says we can remember his name because bass have big mouths, too. He's an elderly gentleman who has been in this neighborhood forever and walks his dog "Ol' Andy" every single day, a flat cap on his head and iPod earbuds in his ears.) He stopped to see what we were doing and commented, "You're making the neighborhood look bad!" Even though he didn't crack a smile, we're hoping he meant it as a compliment--that we were doing a good thing.

Guess we'll find out in the spring.