Today I started the part of my sabbatical that includes manual labor.

Nothing gets me more in touch with myself and God than being outside…digging in the dirt.

I can’t explain it.  It truly is my happy place – well, there or being on some body of water {preferably a lake}, but you get it.  It’s where I am me.  I can think.  I can hear.  I can talk and no one hears me except God…and He’s really the only one I’m talking to, other than myself…

So I dropped off the kiddos at daycare this morning and quickly came back home.  Already in my “work” clothes, I put on my old sneakers, and got out my new garden gloves.  I had close to four hours to make a major dent in this project.  I was giving myself only a half a work day because there are many other things that must be done on my sabbatical…and while this is at the top of the “want” to do list, it’s not a must.

Well, it wasn’t a must…until I got halfway into it today.  If I left it now, it would just look silly…or worse than silly…dumb.

I’ll share with you the before pictures for now.   Before anything was picked up…straightened up…you know, the ugly pictures.

In this one, there are a million daffodils in this short span of nothing.  They’ve been here for who knows how long, by themselves, with nothing else around.  It’s my mission to make them part of something much more lovely.

Complete with a dead camellia {sad…} and propane tank…

Next, Lily was being shy…but you can see, there’s nothing here, other than the laurel petaluma shrubs we planted last  year {that I fully intended to be part of an actual flower bed} and the new Weeping Cherry Tree that we recently planted with Reynolds.

And then, more nothing, except sad shrubs that desperately want friends to share their space!

The next four hours I spend pulling, digging, tugging and removing…

This project is on pause for just a couple of days.  One, because I know I won’t be able to move tomorrow and Two, because Andrew wants to save some of the grass and the way I’ve been doing it doesn’t necessarily help “save” anything.  Wink, wink.

Meanwhile, I’m headed to Lowe’s and a couple of local nurseries this week for plants…anyone have suggestions out there?  This area gets full sun {6+ hours/day}.  I’ve got ideas of my own, but would love to hear from you – what are your favorite sun-loving plants?!

P.S….thanks so much for reading my blog!