Green, green grass of home

We have grass.

Just six days after we planted seed, we have little shoots popping up all over our lawn.

I keep telling myself that I need to calm down, we still have to stay vigilant, we have to watch it carefully ...

But grass! I'm so excited.

I'm probably the only person in New York (judging from my office*) who can't wait for more rain. The more moist our grass stays on a consistent basis, the better off we'll be.

I didn't get a chance to take more pictures after we seeded, put down Seed Aide and hay, and got to watering last weekend, but this weekend -- if it's not raining, but it's supposed to rain all weekend, yaaaaay! -- I'll try to get some pictures up.

One thing I've noticed is that the Seed Aide and hay really do work to keep the soil in place. In the little that it's rained in the past week, the soil at the corner of our new sidewalk did not shift (as it did in other places in the neighborhood where the soil hasn't been reseeded since the township's repaving project).

Also, it's fun to watch the neon-teal Seed Aide stuff grow like sea monkeys when you water it.

I'm a child that way.

As much as I want to do it now, mulching will wait until the spring so I'm not trampling over the new lawn too much. And I plan on putting down decorative gravel and stone in the backyard as well, and planting two new trees in the front.

The cost rundown
15.5 cubic yards of soil: $480
Tiller rental: $70 for first 24 hours
150 pounds of Seed Aide: $68.85
Three bales of hay (only used one, though): $44.85
Grass seed, sun/shade stress mix, 15 pounds: $25.95
Water roller rental: $20ish (Rich may have to correct me on that)

Estimate from landscaper to redo same area of lawn: $3,500-$6,000

DIYers do it right. (Well, if they do it right.)

*Once again, it's been a busy year -- most of you already know, but I started a new job about two months ago in Manhattan. I'm copyediting for a trade publication that follows the metal markets in North America; while that might sound boring, it's not. I learn so many new things on a daily basis, I can barely keep up. It's pretty damn cool, considering the three years of Woman's World we all endured. (I'm well aware I drove everyone nuts, but come on -- I have great stories to tell at cocktail parties!)

Blood, sweat, tears, dirt

Bich is tired.

Bich is so, so tired.

After two days, 15 yards of dirt (according to Amanda, that's 30,000 pounds), two wheelbarrows, multiple garden tools, one tiller, and endless amounts of "oh, shit, we will never get this done/yes, we will, we have to or we'll be those neighbors with dirt for a lawn and we already have drug dealers down the street," we managed to rip up a lawn and lay down an entirely new level of soil that is ready to be seeded.

Truly fantastic moment: As we're cleaning up, the older couple across the street -- he's usually seen outside with his banned cigar and a Mason jar full of bourbon, while his wife is cooking inside; they're pretty cool and full of great stories, and they watch the neighborhood like hawks -- pulls up on their way out of the neighborhood, and she says, "My husband hasn't stopped talking about all the work you've been doing for two days!"

He: "You've restored my faith in American women!"

She: "Everyone expects the man to do all this work, and you've been out here doing all this work, too!"

Rich, walking up: "What about me?!"

She: "Oh, yeah, you, too, but she's the wife! I should be cooking you two dinner! We've never seen anyone work so hard on their lawn in this neighborhood in all our years here and I've been here since 1942!"

He: "You've restored my faith in American women! Seriously! You're a lucky man!"

It's good to know the neighbors know Rich is fulfilling his manly duty, and I'm apparently doing womanhood proud.

Tired.

Afterward, we walked down the street to celebrate the end of our dirt-moving with a Blue Moon at Rug's and Riffy's, the local dive. I was especially dirty, having wrangled with the garden hose, a little water and the soil (we need a new hose now).

We walked in, sat down ... and I was promptly denied for not having my ID with me.

Sure, I suppose I should be happy, but let's be honest -- I don't look that young. Can't be mad at her; she's just doing her job.

But I really, really wanted that beer.

Anyway, so many neighbors stopped by or yelled over to say hi, tell a little joke about us digging through all that dirt, tell us to be patient ... I found it all very satisfying, despite the exhaustion. I almost forgot about the cold I've been fighting all week; maybe the dirt really does do a body good.

Rich took a little video:

Soil, grass and blisters

House of Bich is getting down and dirty this weekend.

By "down," I mean "Brooke and Rich can barely stand up, and even the tips of Brooke's fingers hurt typing this." And dirty ...

This is the second part of the delivery.

This is the third part of the delivery.

Fifteen and a half yards of dirt. 

Three bales of hay, 15 pounds of seed, three bags of Seed Aide await.

Tilled.

After receiving one estimate for upward of $6,000 to have the front and sides of the lawn torn up, replanted, mulched, etc., we decided to do it ourselves. I ordered 15 yards of soil from The Yard in Scotch Plains, and Rich and I set aside one full weekend -- this one -- to get to it.

Rich went to Home Depot this morning and rented a tiller, while I grabbed the chainsaw (yes, we own one) and took down a few small trees and bushes. And then we got to work.

Tilling.

Raking.

Shoveling.

Wheelbarrow-ing.

Dumping.

Leveling (sort of).

This is where you keep telling yourself that it'll look great in the spring, that doing it yourself will make you proud of your work, blah blah blah.

Yeah, probably. But I'm still hurting.

Tomorrow, we'll rake up the other half of the yard and put down the rest of the soil. The goal: to seed and put down the hay by sunset.

I hurt more already.