Many Hands Make Light Work - except in the yard

My weekend goal was to get the garden beds cleaned up so I could think about planting them... Well, it started in the garden, and then spread to the lower half of the yard. Below is the butterfly garden that I REALLY want to move over to the right side of the yard so I can add 4 more veggie beds there. BUT Brian really put a lot of time and effort into it, so I may have to look at doing that after we someday pull down the pine trees and have a lot of sunlight on the right side of the yard. The adirondak chairs are a great place to sit and read, enjoy the outside temperature, or meet with a neighbor and a bottle of wine after a particularly bad day. Many, many uses, and the perfect dogwood tree.

Nice and clean

Early on into the morning, Brian and the girls found a tiny turtle in the yard. In the past we've actually caught pictures of turtles laying the eggs. I know the female was busy, but it appears that the male, or some other turtle friend comes into the yard as well and sort of stands guard. So spring through summer we are watching for them while we mow and setting them gently back into the pond before a dog gets them, at least in the pond they have a shot at surviving bird raids.....

We (family together time - don't ya know) picked up pinecones, raked pine straw, layed mulch out under new trees, and had to stop when we ran out of yard bags. Unfortunately I can't compost all of that good stuff because we haven't started that yet - another "green thing" on my "to do" list. My next immediate goal is to research how to get rid of a huge swarm of ants that has discovered my garden bed over the winter and to erradicate them. I don't want pesticides on the veggies I give my family, nor do I want the ants to have a free picnic. Fortunately they only discovered one of the beds (as did a family of gecko/skink reptiles) and I will cross my fingers that they don't move into the next one. Any ideas out there? Ants in the south are pretty much impossible to exterminate.

The picture above is of our self-pollinating peach tree. It gave us 6 whole peaches last year, and is already blooming. We'll have to fight the squirrels for the 6 it hopefully gives us this year, but we are prepared. Food just tastes better when you grow it yourself. The pear trees on the other side of the house are blooming too, but those will only produce more when we get rid of the tall pine trees stealing their sunlight. All in all, a very productive day. Next weekend - the play area.