Spring is here!

In the spring, a young homeowner's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of... yardwork.

Even though we never had much of a winter to speak of, spring is most definitely here, and with it has come the realization that while we may have accomplished a lot inside, we have a LOT to do outside. Also, most of it is going to require equipment we don't have yet. We have just acquired a lawnmower of the tiny-tractor variety, which is probably overkill for our reasonably-sized suburban lawn, but my other half pointed out, very reasonably, that between his bad knee and my bad back, neither of us is probably going to be up to dealing with a push mower. (There was a distinct undertone of "but I WAAAAAAAANT one," which didn't bother me any because tractors are awesome, and also did you know you can buy an attachment for it that turns it into a ride-on snowblower? It's true!)

I consider myself a pretty knowledgeable gardener, but I freely admit that I know nothing at all about lawn care. Back home, I had my little herb garden and a rose bed or two, and the lawn was just the big green expanse between the interesting bits. Every so often, Mom or Pa would mow it, and white clover would pop up in the summer to attract honeybees. Now that I have my own lawn, I'm realizing there's a bit more to it than just the occasional mowing, so I'll have to read up on the subject and find out exactly what we need to do to keep it looking nice. I'm not looking for golf course perfection - I find a few weeds charming, especially the little violets that show up in a lot of lawns around here. However, the big pile of rocks and sand left over from the previous owners' pool base is definitely going to have to go.