We’ve been working on our front yard and trying to come up with ideas to liven it up!

I’ve been brainstorming ideas to add some dimension and interest to help distract from the funny windows (seen here).   We were playing around with maybe planting a tree or two in the front, so imagine my excitement when my dad gave us a star magnolia that was being over crowded in their yard!  My dad and I hacked it down yesterday, dug it up, soaked the roots in water and vitamin B, and it was shoved into the car!  It seemed perfect!  We arrived home around 8:30pm and decided there was just enough light to dig a large hole and get the tree into it’s new home.  But then we started digging…

We’ve noticed over the past  2 summers that grass in our front yard doesn’t grow very well and is quick to die as soon as summer hits.  Anyone that lives in the Seattle area can agree that summer has been off to SLOW start this year.  And yet, even without heat above 80 degrees, the grass still died.  And now we might just understand why.

{Leia loves to carry around empty plastic potting containers}

As we  (and by we I mean Jesse) started digging it was obvious it was going to take a while.  It was all rock and packed clay.  Then as he was digging he realized, our front yard used to be the driveway!  Decades ago it ran straight through what is now the living room!

Which totally explains why it’s all packed down.  He gave up around 9:30pm and called it a night.  We filled the hole with water hoping to break up all the clay, but this morning I went out and started to dig.  I gave up after 15 minutes.  I’m assuming he will pick up where he left off when he gets home from work : )  It is kind of fascinating though how history catches up with you decades later especially in an old house.