Someone Planted Rocks In My Yard!!! Landscaping in Sparks, NV.

Big sigh. I found out the hard way that the Truckee River used to meander through my property before the Corp of Engineers made it straight.

I took Friday off to do many things…but mainly to start back in killing the Junipers in the southeast corner of the lot. Started off at 7 am at Lowes ~ picked up a mini torch for metalsmithing. Then to mom’s house to write a bunch of kids names (and the two coaches) with puff paint on a soccer flag banner my sister and mom made earlier in the week (my niece is on a school soccer team for 2nd graders). Then mom and I went to Michael’s so I can buy some hemp for those beach glass necklaces. Over to G&G Nursery & Landscaping to pick out a Lilac and Weeping Cherry for the yard. I bought a beautiful Sensation Lilac (Syringa vulgaris ‘Sensation’) that will grow to about 15′ in height. It has single reddish buds that open to deep purple edged in white.

The weeping cherry is a Snow Fountain with white flowers and will grow only to about 12′-15′ high.

Picked my sister up for all of us to have lunch at The Sup. Was back home by 1pm to start in on the Junipers. After a while I got to the point that I couldn’t go on with the tools I had…pruning shears, hand saw and shovel. So I turned my sights on the two conifers on the side where I wanted to plant the weeping cherry tree.

Took the trimmer to the trees so I could get a better area to saw them in half. When I grabbed the one tree it sorta leaned…so I pushed…and it started to fall over! Gave it a good kick and tree with rootball plopped over. So I karate kicked the other one and it too fell over. ME STRONG WOMAN! HEAR ME ROAR! LOL! That was the easy part. Started digging and 4″ down ran into river cobbles…big river cobbles…small river cobbles…medium river cobbles. Lots and lots of bloody river cobbles. It took me an hour to dig a 2′ wide circle 18″ deep. That pretty little tree is planted and staked (just in time I might add…we’re supposed to have 40-60 mph winds hit the valley floor today ~ Bloody Nevada Spring Weather! 80 degrees one day - 58 the next). I still need to pull up the weed sheet thing that someone placed down and then plant some columbine and lavender around the tree area…then lay redwood mulch down.

This is what the conifers looked like from the backside, very nice looking ~ in the front…they were all dead as some idiot sawed off two others in front of them and left these two standing, very dead looking.

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Some of the river cobbles…they are now in a ring around the tree.

I dug these up with the river cobbles…there was a bunch of glass and a broken tea cup too.

My husband took pity on me on Saturday…after our morning yard sale ritual he helped me get out the main stumps and roots. With the Chevy and chain no less! I think he became obsessed with getting them out, more so than me at that point. He was taking it very personally that they were putting up such a great fight. We worked all day on those bloody things.

Reposting this picture from the previous weekend.

And it continued into Sunday after church. He wanted to go to the El Rancho Swap Meet after the last stump and root system was pulled out…so while he was gone I started to plant the lilac bush and spruce up the corner.

I got the lilac in, re-planted an iris near the fence; planted a sage (can’t remember what type); made a rock stack out of some of the dug up river cobbles; put my obsidian rock between the lilac and sage; put the three metal quail in front of the lilac; put Rufus, the gargoyle, in front of the wee rock stack; and watered. I still need to buy two Old English Roses for the right side…where the dirt piles are still at. And plant more smaller flowers of something that catches my fancy…perferably yellow or white as I realized I will have A LOT OF PURPLE blooming in that corner!

Oh…here are some of my yard sale finds! A free, very large wooden pumpkin; a very cool 12″ copper owl; lots of beads.

First Weekend in March 2008

And I didn’t do much! :-) 

March came in with lots of wind and a cold air mass…bloody hell, I getting tired of the wind. 

So after a warm breakfast we headed out to the Elks Club rummage sale at the south end of town.   I love going to their sales ~ there’s this wee old lady who gives you the best deals!  Two new t-shirts, copper mold, books, coffee cup, radio, wall hanging (pictured below) and some more books for $5.

I’m going to paint over the French waiter on this wall hanging I got…I think I’m going to pop off that plastic door knob and put either a hook or one of my old glass door knobs on it.

The Physicians Wives had their rummage sale on Saturday too…later in the afternoon I went ~ paid my $2 to get pushed, shoved, run over by baby carriages, and assaulted by rude women, men and children alike.  Never will I set foot in their operation again. 

I got in my car and headed south on Wells to the Four Seasons House…a local antique and gift shop at 628 S. Wells Avenue, Reno 89502…Where Every Day is a Holiday!  I love that place, nice and quiet with lots of vintage and unique items to browse through. Bought 2 more green handled kitchen utensils for my kitchen display, a bottle opener for my husband, and a 1920’s postcard for myself to use someday in an art project.

That evening I started making Feather Tree Ornaments from rummikubs.  I picked up a cd a long time ago with vintage postcards on it…printed out Easter, St. Patrick’s Day and 4th of July artwork then started making my ornaments.  I have a feather tree at work that I decorate for each holiday.  It has both Easter and St. Patricks on it this month.    I followed Sue’s (Perpetualplum) altered domino tutorial and tweaked to fit what I had on hand. 

I’ve drilled holes in the rummikubs and started gluing the images on the backs (ornament’s front).

Gluing paper that I bought at a yard sale on the front tiles (will be the back of my ornament).

Cut the foil tape and starting to attach them around the edges.

Just a close up ~ next step is to add a glass bead and hook!

Sunday was much cooler than Saturday, had lots of sunshine…and that bloody cold wind. Hit the El Rancho Swap Meet in Sparks. I only found an old wooden fishing bobber to add to my collection while my husband came home with another Dale Earnhardt collectible and a ratchet. LOL! He loves finding tools…even if it meant he had to buy from the guy who beats him to the tools at local yard sales.

And now for something completely different ~

Plate of my homemade whole wheat tortillas ~ made pork tacos last night (Boston butt roast stewed all day long and then pulled and put into ziplocks for pesole, tacos, and bbq sandwiches).

Last but not least ~ my Maxie wanting to know when I was going to finish crafting and turn out the lights!