when you ask for a trim...

i love lilacs.

although their life is short-lived, it is deliciously fragrant and beautiful...and enjoyed immensely by yours truly. much to my delight two years ago, i realized our home is full of lilac trees. or are they bushes? it remains to be seen, because the previous owner was a structural engineer, not a gardener. cool for the addition he put on the house. not cool for the rest of the grounds.

i'm no expert on plants, trees, flowers, and the like. i only aspire to be. i read and research when it comes to these things, because i am very aware that my thumb is not green. even if green is my favorite color.

enter: my dad, ray, one night last week. he had stopped by to see the backyard (that post is coming soon, too) and since my dad is a project kind of guy (apple didn't fall far from the tree, eh?), and i mentioned pruning the tremendously overgrown tree, seen here below, he offered to help dave (read: he thinks he is the only one who knows how to do things "right" so he inserted himself into the project quickly. especially because it involved chainsaws, and he loves chainsaws).

this is my lilac tree on the right.
actually, this was my lilac tree.

things seem to be going well. branches are being trimmed, i'm getting excited about shaping the tree better so i can reach the blooms and see some new growth...

eli's helping his "gp" (of course, he needed his own hand saw and ladder to work on the maple tree)...we're having a splendid good time (leave me alone, i get really excited when projects get started AND finished).


my dad's got his american flag bandanna, dead limbs are dropping, i am well pleased with the progress...

piper's loving it. nothing like a loud chainsaw and branches crashing to the ground. haha, she's hilarious...

"mom- this is NUTS!"

and then...

i take piper inside to start dinner, and when i come back out to check on the boys...one of the branches i had wanted trimmed had been cut off, so my lilac tree looked ridiculous. i had to have them take the tree all the way down to 3 feet. so instead of my 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 pruning approach...

i ended up with what is considered a hard prune:

yup.
there she is, in all her glory.
it's like when you go to the hairdresser for a trim, and she cuts off 10 inches. not exactly what you asked for.

luckily my husband and father were gracious with me when i berated them for destroying my tree. i don't know what got into me. i mean, it's a tree...it will grow back.

it's just going to take a few years.
ohhhh lordy.

top 10 lessons learned at the stratton construction site

today was hilarious. the thought i kept thinking is "whoa. i am WAY out of my league. wayyy out!" our home is officially the stratton construction site. it's a beautiful mess.* hopefully soon, it will be just beautiful. here are some insightful lessons to glean wisdom from next time you want to get in over your head ;)

1. don't think for one second that if ray (ie, my dad) gets into a skid steer (ie, a bobcat) something crazy won't happen. like him flipping it over. into a ravine. in my yard. seriously. i was like "whoa. that. just. happened."


2. chainsaws that plug in are pretty much the fairies of the tool world. don't even bother with them. use a stinking hand saw.


3. also- when said chainsaw starts bouncing around when you're, say, pruning lilacs- don't try to "show it who's boss." then you'll end up with the chain caught in the branches. this is not cool. nor is it effective.


4. don't assume a bobcat has even CLOSE to enough guts to push as ridiculous an amount of dirt as what is in my backyard right now. what you need is a bulldozer. a HUGE one. or maybe some dynamite.


5. don't assume work gloves will save your hands from blisters. and then blisters on top of other blisters. and busted knuckles. this is not the case. work gloves are only to help you look tough.


6. building a rock wall...is not as simple as stacking rocks. this is a glaring misconception.


7. building a rock wall in front of a gigantic tree...makes it a lot harder. crazy roots.


8. and seriously. rocks are heavy. heavier than you'd imagine. it'll blow your mind. go find a big rock and try to lift it up. go on. i dare you.


9. don't think you're a landscaper, even it's your true calling (right, nick?). if someone isn't paying you, you're called a "do-it-yourself-er".


10. it's great to have aspirations. but be realistic with your timetable. c'mon now, rome wasn't built in a day, people.

and those, my dear friends, are the top 10 things i've learned today. i hope you've enjoyed them as much as i did.

*pictures of my beautiful mess coming soon