Korey Atterberry’s Idle Chatter

On Thursday the delivery guy unloaded 20 cubic yards (about 7 tons) into our front yard. I spent about 20 hours total on Friday and Saturday getting it hauled back to the playset using the new garden cart that Dad bought and Nathan’s two-wheel wheelbarrow (which I have to say is MUCH easier than the single-wheel I’ve been using for years). By the way, a pitchfork worked WAY better than any shovel for moving mulch. Nathan came over and friday and helped for a couple of hours. Neither day got above freezing temperatures, and the winds were rather brisk. Since the mulch was still actively composting, it was almost hot, giving off steam as we dug into the pile.

Here’s the pile in the front yard, with Mom and Dad’s tractor for scale:

Twenty yards was plenty of mulch, so a couple of yards went into our flowerbeds our next-door neighbors used some for theirs as well. I’d say about 15 yards went into the playground, which encompasses an area about 1250 square feet. That provides more than the suggested safety margins around the structure. I put the mulch on very thick in the areas where kids are more likely to fall. We used twelve 8-ft composite recycled landscaping timbers and some spikes to form the boundary between the playground and the yard. By the way, I’m not entirely sure what those timbers are made of, but they dulled my wood/metal drill bit in short order…

We have just a little bit to finish with the landscaping (once I sharpen my drill bit!) See the photo gallery for all the pictures of the landscaping.