playin' in the dirt

My child is such a little BOY! This past weekend was beautiful -- well, at least Sunday was -- so we tried to get some work done in the yard. I slathered AJ in Water Babies SPF 45 and he sat on a blanket while I dug in the dirt. He dug in the dirt, too, as a matter of fact. I love watching him. He gets all excited to feel the grass in his hands, and he slaps at it and giggles, pulling at it with his little round fists. By the end of the half-hour, of course, there's dirt under his nails and on his feet, and grass all over his clothes. I'm surprised to say he doesn't try to eat the grass, or even the pebbles that are part of the mini "rock garden." He just likes to rake them toward himself and feel their cool, round shapes, I guess.

I am excited that we bought some plants that we've been meaning to buy for ages. Some new azaleas to replace the ugly elephant ear that is currently in the middle of a whole row of azaleas (why would the previous owners have done that?); red Gerber daisies (gorgeous!) and Dusty Miller for around our mailbox, which seems to be the neighborhood "showplace" -- everyone's mailbox has an assortment of pretty colorful flowers; and some pink speckled caldium bulbs for the backyard. I adore caldiums; learned yesterday they bloom in late summer. And hostas -- I might have to buy some more hostas. We didn't get anything planted yesterday, but spread some new pinestraw and cleaned out a few beds. Maybe this week, since daylight savings time has arrived, there will be some good sunlight in the evenings and we can do it. Does anyone know if moss is a problem when mixed in with dirt/soil? I need to look that up. One of the flower beds in our backyard is very shady and moist and had a ton of moss growing over the dirt. I broke it all up and mixed it in. I know so little about gardening, I just make stuff up as I go along.

Being outside makes everything better. It's not like we had the most fabulous weekend ever. DH was not feeling well, we didn't go out and DO anything fun besides errands, we didn't really even spend much quality time together yesterday. DH did his thing in the front yard, I did mine in the back. But since we spent the day under the sky, and not cooped up in the house, I just felt my spirits lifted. It felt like spring, it felt like the accomplishment of some small goals, and it felt like the whole world was smiling.