Life lately

It's felt really busy lately! 

We had a big project to take down a tree, and of course I can't find a better "before" picture, but that pine has been growing up into the maple for however many years and it was super bushy at the bottom and bugged me. (this pic is after Doug already cut all the bottom reachable limbs off)

So Doug's buddy and my dad came over and a neighbor we all worked to get it down, and then trim up the maple. Also rehomed my crazy forsythia (the pretty yellow one in the pic there) to my mom's house and cut down a lilac that died who-knows-why last year. 

After getting rid of all the brush and limbs and logs, the next goal was to clean up this "grove" area. So nearly every naptime and after kids in bed, before dark, night has been devoted to this task and it is exhausting. 

Also going on: fun with MagnaTiles

And this boy is doing a 7 week beginners soccer class. 

And planting fruit trees. Here's us pushing 3 trees to the Jeep and then thinking... hmmm... where shall we put these exactly?? 

Luckily we only live 3-ish, very slow, miles away as these babies rode on my lap and on the center console sticking out the sunroof on the way home. We got a lot of looks!

Progress picture of the grove with the brush/other small trees gone and hours and hours of roots and weeds hand cleared from the ground. 

Utilizing my last year's birthday present of my leaf hands!

So just went outside to water the fruit trees and saw a deer print in the ground. 

It went something like this:

oh hey, a deer print!

oh the prints are walking over to my apple tree...

wait a minute a bunch of the leaves and flowers are gone!!!

Doug, emergency! We need to perimeter the trees tonight!!

So Doug has been at our college ministry group and is stopping by Walmart on his way home at 10pm to get stakes and fishing line so he can work by headlamp-light to perimeter the trees. Sigh, such is the life of the "farmer" I guess.