Spring Flowers and Birds

We love the warmth of springtime and new life emerging everywhere. Spring is such a beautiful time of year.  It is so refreshing to see the brown plants turn green. We enjoy nature, being outside, and working in the yard.  Each year, we plant more flowers, bushes, and trees. It’s easy to take starts from old plants and make new plants.

We just planted over 100 lilacs. The children worked hard and did a fabulous job digging up starts and transplanting them. Dad and the older ones dug the holes while the younger children carefully planted the tender little plants. Watering them with a hose was the favorite job, so the children took turns. In a few years, the lilacs will fill in and completely take over this part of the hillside.

 

Dad really enjoys gardening and working with plants. Unbeknownst to the rest of the family, Dad has been nurturing a little tree that voluntarily came up in the rose bushes. He was planning to transplant it. Mom didn’t know about Dad’s plans and saw it as a weed.  Mom thought she was being helpful and had the tree pulled.  Dad was saddened to find his little tree lying on the grass in the hot sun. Luckily, he found it soon after it had been pulled out. He quickly planted it in a new safe spot and watered it well. He hopes his little tree will make it.

 

With so much shrubbery, vegetation, and foliage around, birds love the area. There are bird’s nests everywhere. We found nests in trees and bushes, under the eves, and on rain gutters. Young birds were chirping while mother birds searched out and found fresh worms to feed their young. It’s fascinating to watch. We welcome all of the birds with their singing, dancing, and delightful activity.

During the day, the chickens like to walk around the yard scratching and pecking.  Something started killing the chickens one by one, so we kept them in the chicken coop where they would be safe. But they didn’t want to be in the coop. They like the yard.

Nothing could get into the coop, but if the chickens pushed against the fence, they could slip under it. One by one the chickens found their way out of the coop and couldn’t get back in. In the morning, we found feathers and the scattered remains of chickens. Some predator apparently found a tasty dinner each night. I was disappointed and whispered to myself, “Oh, if you chickens would have just stayed in the safe coop that I offered you, but you would not.”

Jesus said something along these lines, “O, ye nations of the earth, how often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not!” D&C 43:24, 3 Nephi 10:4-6 

We bought some new little baby chicks. They are safe and sound in the chicken coop. They are cute little chicks. Everyone wants to see them, feed them, and play with them. They are growing, doing well, and getting big. We are excited to have fresh eggs again.

Old Paradise Church – Replanting

Some good friends of ours bought all of the bushes and trees that surrounded the Old Paradise Church.  They asked for our help in removing the plants. John took his Bobcat down to the church and dug up the bushes.  After they took all they wanted, there were still quite a few bushes left.  We hate to see living things die, so we decided to save the remaining plants.  We didn't take the juniper bushes; junipers get scraggily. 

 

Our yard is fully landscaped, and so we needed to find a place for the trees, bushes, and plants that came from the church.  We love to work outside and enjoy a new project. As a result, we keep expanding our yard and making the landscaped area of our property bigger and bigger.  There’s always room for more living plants.

Last year we planted an old lilac bush that was uprooted from Mom Willis’ yard.  It was in the way, and she didn’t want it anymore.  After spending a day on the trailer and surviving a wild ride through the canyon, the bush was replanted. We are happily surprised that it stayed alive and is growing.  We decided to make a place for these other plants around this orphan lilac bush. 

Our children loved playing in the curly trees each week after church.  The stake president said they were keeping the ones in the yard, so we only took the two trees that were right up next to the foundation of the Old Paradise Church.  

 

 

These are also curly trees, but haven’t had the space to grow like the ones in the yard. For being an older tree, they don’t have a very big root system.  We hope and pray we can transplant them successfully.  We planted them on each side of the orphan lilac bush; they form a beautiful arch. 

 

A hedge of bushes lined the backside of the church.  The bushes are fully mature and quite large.  It took the backhoe to dig them out.  We tried to be careful, but they were still traumatized by the move.  It is a lot easier to move young, small bushes than big bushes with strong roots.  We loaded them on the trailer and took them home. We made several trips to transport all of the plants.

 

One of the beautiful trees had rotten roots.  The Bobcat barely touched it, and it fell over.  We discovered that the roots were decaying and missing. We can't transplant this tree.

 

We were amazed at how much garbage was hidden in the bushes.  We left most of the garbage back at the church, but we were still finding garbage while replanting.

After a long day of digging and moving bushes, we were tired. We only had time to plant the trees.  We thought they were the most sensitive and needed to be replanted immediately.  We waited until morning to plant the bushes. 

After digging holes for the bushes, we positioned them in their new home.  Jared and John had to work together to move these big plants.  The Bobcat was used to put the bushes in the holes, but John and Jared had to use their manpower to twist and turn the plants and get them positioned just right.  We have some black, rich soil on another part of our property.  We hauled in this dark, nutrient rich soil to fill the holes. The children shovel dirt in and around the plants and used rakes to smooth the area. We’re doing what we can to encourage the plants to take root, survive, and flourish. We also gave them a big drink of water and have watered them regularly since their arrival. 

 

  

Jonathan found a set of old, steel wagon wheels out in the field.  We made a wooden box out of scrap lumber. The lumber came from a junk pile that a neighbor was getting rid of.  The slats on the bottom of the wood box are spaced for good drainage.  Since straw doesn’t rot easily, we put a layer of straw in the bottom of the box to keep the dirt from falling through the slats. 

 

 

 

 

Using the Bobcat, we filled the box with a load of dark topsoil.  We have a small bucket of marigold seeds that John has collected over the years.  There are thousands of seeds, and we planted all of them in the wagon box.  Probably way too many seeds, but it should look pretty this summer.

Some lilies were growing in the corner by the chapel and relief society room.  We dug them up and replanted them around the wagon box.  We’re told that they like to spread their roots and take over a flowerbed.  That's great.  There is a lot of room for them to spread and grow.  

As we spent several days rescuing these plants, some thoughts went through my mind:  We took what no one else wanted.  We have the machinery that allows us to accomplish this huge project.  The items salvaged from the inside the building were dead.  If they were scarred during the removal process, they will remain scarred.  We took the living things from the church.  In time, they will grow, regenerate, and flourish in their new environment. 

I am grateful for this living reminder of the Old Paradise Church. They make a beautiful addition to our expanding yard.

It’s Time to Start Planting the Garden

With a little bit of warmth and sunshine, it feels like springtime. Most everyone enjoyed working in the garden and playing in the fresh cool dirt. We tilled the ground and planted several hundred onions, some peas, and a little spinach. Many hands make the work go faster and easier.