The Desert

I spend a lot of time in our garden and yard. I shouldn't exactly call it a yard, since it doesn't consist of what I would consider a yard to be. There is no where to sit, there is no where to be! We are living in the Utah desert. Seriously, I am talking the desert. We see tumble weeds roll by. They get stuck under my car. I have to pull them out before I start driving.

Back to the "not yard," I spend literally hours out there, pulling weeds, digging, trying my best to manipulate the soil to plant. My garden seems to be doing ok, but the beauty is taken away by the propane tank sitting beside it. Oh, don't forget the desert weeds that grow like North Carolina, crab grass. It's great. Now, it is great if it were in a field where the cows were grazing. Unfortunately, we are not farmers, and I would like to have green soft grass.

Now, I know we cannot have all green, soft grass. It would cost a fortune to water the grass out here, and honestly it would be a waste of water. We are going to zero-scape most of it, but allow a small area of grass for the girls to do some somersaults. We have great hopes of what the yard will eventually be. Yet, we have to do so conservatively, and according to our budget. It's funny how that works, huh? You can't go buy more flowers if there isn't money in the budget to buy flowers. I guess, we could always do what the rest of America does, and charge it... pay it back, later... or never.

Well, of course, we will not do that.

So, in the meantime... I dig out the weeds, plant what I can.. and pray they survive the conditions. We have serious winds, as well. Therefore, they are beaten by the sun and the wind. A plant barely has the chance. I have given up my dreams of some east coast plants, and begun a new love of desert flowers, cactus, seed-um, and whatever else can grow in deplorable soil conditions.

I am excited to one day have the pathways leading to different seating areas, surrounded by growing wild flowers, perfumed in lavender. I luckily, have two potted lavender plants on my front steps, to walk by as I go in the house. It transforms my mind to where I want the yard to go.

The unfortunate part, we might be out of the house, by the time the "yard" is where we would want it. Siiiigh. I miss a yard.

I, however, do not miss the North Carolina bugs. I DO NOT.