our backyard

the hubs has been very happy with the results of all his hard work last year putting in the rain gardens and doing some landscape work out back. we have had lots of growth and some pretty wildflowers growing this summer. check out some pictures:

Daaaaa bees

So I've been meaning to post something about how my landscaping project has been doing over the past couple weeks, but things like a baby & computer games tend to get in the way!

As I was researching plants to put in our yard, one of my deciding factors was if they'd be good plants for pollinators (bees and butterflies). I am a big fan of bees since they give us so much and only ask for a little bit of pollen and nectar.  Some people might have a hatred for bees since they will fly around your open can of pop on a summer day and can sometimes ruin a picnic. Those "bees" are actually yellow jacket wasps and not bees at all!

Here are some facts about bees:
-There are 1,200 native pollinating bees in North America
-A bee traveling at a top speed of 15 mph will visit as many as 100 flowers before returning to it’s hive.
-Bee pollination accounts for 1 out of every 3 bites of food.
-Most bee species are solitary. A female lays eggs and provisions her own nest. 
-Only the bees that live in a colony or hive (“social bees,” i.e., honey bees and bumble bees) are likely to sting, because they have a colony to defend
-Of the forty-five species of bumble bees in the U.S., only about four have a feisty nature.
-When foraging away from the nest, no bee is looking for conflict and will only sting as a last resort–perhaps as a result of being swatted or squashed, or accidentally being caught in someone’s clothes.

If you haven't fallen asleep after reading those facts, then here is your reward!  Some of the late August blooming plants in our yard (with one of their pollinators) are:

Blue vervain with skipper

Sneezeweed with rusty-patched bumble bee

Cup plant with European honeybee (not native, but these are the ones that make the honey we eat)

The rest of these pictures are just of some of the other flowers in our yard without pollinators:

Bottle gentians are pollinated exclusively by large bumblebees due to the difficulty of opening the top of the flower to get to the pollen inside 

and finally, here is my favorite prairie flower, rough blazing star

Landscape

 So, if you've been wondering what I've been spending 60 hours on in the last 2 or so weeks, here's proof I wasn't just drinking beer and playing video games.  So I got a grant from my Watershed District to do 2 rain gardens, 3 native pollinator (bees & butterflies) plantings, and to build 2 bee boxes.  So, without further adieu, here's the before & afters:

South Shade Rain Garden

Northeast Pollinator Planting

North Sun Rain Garden

Northwest Pollinator Planting

 I know, I know, nothing spectacular when looking at the photos, but I'll be posting pics throughout the summer when different plants are blooming.

Oh, and I also put in 3 rain barrels.  If you want to learn more about rain barrels, click here.

landscaping

earlier this year the hubs applied for a grant to do some landscaping/install some rain gardens. and we found out a few weeks ago that he was approved. he was PUMPED. so he started immediately. and he is focused. very very very focused. which is a good thing (or so i keep telling myself) he enjoys doing landscaping, being outdoors and is having fun with this. (something i have to keep telling myself too)

now when i say focused i mean FOCUSED. he works during the day. comes home, quick eats supper and changes and then is busy outside until 8:30 or 9. but wait kelsey, we have had some rainy days recently you are thinking...yes well not even that stops this guy.  heres a (blurry-sorry) picture of him saturday, after the rain (ie everything is mud) taking a quick meal break. dont even get me started on washing all these clothes either.

here are some before/in progress pictures of his hard work:





our backyard




in between the house and the garage




rain garden #1 plus extra rock & top soil stuff and some much on the right




our side yard




view from the driveway





view from our front yard onto the area where some bushes/plants will be




rain garden #2, front of the house

 so there you have it. what the hubs has been doing lately. if you are coming to visit, please excuse the mess both outside and inside. with the hubs busy outside that leaves me to handle the inside. not as easy as one would think. between growing a baby and working i havent had much ambition to do much else. oh well. it will all get done. eventually.

life lately

Here are some of the random things we have been up to lately: 

Got a glider chair for the nursery. I didn’t even have to ask the hubs to put it together; he just did it on his own. Also, its super comfy, I’ve sat in it quite a bit already talking to the baby or just relaxing. I’m glad we got this one and didn’t get a wooden rocker like I was thinking. 

Hanging out with friends. Well this one is me. Some friends came over the other night to just have a little girls night and catch up. It was a lot of fun to see these girls again and just chat about anything and everything. But have no fear the hubs will soon be hanging out with his friends for a man baby shower. Aka just another excuse to have a few brew-skies. 

Changed out the lighting in nursery. Turns out it was a big longer of a project than the hubs anticipated due to some screw placement or something, but we really like it. 

Landscaping. Well we haven’t been doing this, the hubs has. He has been taking out the rock we don’t want, planning to create new pathways/walkways and hiding one of our tree stumps. Here’s to hoping some warmer weather is on its way. He is also waiting to hear from a grant he applied for to put in some rain gardens too. 

Baby classes. This past weekend we were educated on all things labor & delivery, breastfeeding and baby care. Made me realize we have a lot to think about, do we want music in the labor & delivery room? Epidural? What to wear? How long should the hubs take off of work? How to know what to dress the baby in for summer or winter? And then of course other random things that I know don’t need to be decided right now but I am still thinking about…Santa. Discipline. Pop. Sugar. Having to have the birds and the bees talk.

goodbye trees

even though its the middle of "winter" the hubs is well on his way to figuring out all the landscaping he wants to do this spring/summer/fall. theres been mention of bushes, rain gardens and some other things. but when chopping down some trees was mentioned, i was a bit surprised. but thats his territory, not mine. so last week we had two trees taken down. heres some sneak attack pictures of the 8 hour process. you know sneak attack so they wouldnt see me in the house in my pjs of course.

the tree above is in our side yard, looking out from the soon to be babys room. even a week later its crazy to drive up to our house and see so much of the house. i didnt really think that tree blocked/covered a lot of the house but it did. now it will be interesting to see how the hubs hides these stumps.

and heres the one from the front yard.