The ratio of increasing temperatures to increasing yard work is certainly the case at the Helge household. We ripped up all of our old bushes and planted some new ones that Donna and Dale bought us for our anniversary. The rain-soaked weekend actually proved to be key factor for helping us out.

After removing the three bushes on the east side of our house, I went to remove the thorn bush on the west side ... or so I thought. After I pulled it out, I noticed a round metal tag in the ground saying that it was a rose bush. Nothing like tearing up a nice rose bush that the previous owners had left for us. Never the less, our Husker red and white bushes will look great in its spot (once fully bloomed).

Feeling accomplished by our work, we decided to tear up more of the yard and plant a garden. We are now growing strawberries, tomatoes, jalepeno peppers, cilantro, rosemary and garlic. We'll have to cook out and invite everyone over in 2-3 months when everything is ready to use.

Please note the fence we had to put up to keep Stanley out: