Operation Move Dirt Continues

Operation "move dirt" continued this weekend and into the week. Eleven cubic yards of dirt and two cubic yards of pine mulch later, the new garden space is primed.

Today was supposed to be my day of rest as the forecast called for rain. It was only supposed to be a day of rest from outdoor projects, as the fridge is looking bare and heaps of shedded dog fur are threatening to over take the furniture. My upper body is begging for rest. It's sunny outside, however, and I'm torn.

This picture was taken on Sunday when operation "move dirt" was 3/4 of the way complete.

The dirt pile also was transformed into an army base by Bubaloo, complete with lots of tunnels and little army people. We've never actually encourged him to play army or any other sort of war game. He's just got this inclination for it and has constructed a whole elaborate fantasy world around it.

Each weekend he dons his skateboarding helmet, Wifey's rubber boots, and keeps his PJs on to run around and play. We just clued in that the reason he loves his skateboarding helmet so much is because he pretends it's an army helmet. He's an army man on his bike; he's an army man while playing basketball.

For a kid who isn't even allowed to have a play gun, a water gun or toys with guns, we find it a bit bizarre how every inanimate object gets transformed into a gun - anything from a stick, pole or branch to the leg of a barbie doll. The hose becomes a flame thrower. A big ball of dirt becomes a bomb.

We've given up trying to make army "bad," outlawing and re-directing him to other activities. In part, I think the fascination with army play comes from the fact that the last school he attended while living with his foster parents was located on an army base, where the majority of kids had army parents, and army play was part of daily school yard behaviour.

Instead, we set parameters of safety and separating how we play army in pretend-land from how we act in real life.

To break up army play, Wifey wheeled Bubaloo around in the wheelbarrow as she moved dirt.

(Note: I put that wheelbarrow together all by myself on Friday).

He'd climb in, get covered with dirt, get dumped out and covered with dirt, and spent the whole time doubled over in giggles and begging for more...and to go faster...and to be buried under more dirt.

Wifey was happy to comply. I was the killjoy who had to keep asking them both to stop jumping and compressing the dirt. All day long.

And, yesterday marked the day of finishing touches. I hauled out more of the compacted dirt, did some more grading and then heaped mulch on top of it all.

All that's left to do now is to mulch the front garden and back bed, purchase and install the rain barrel, hire a contractor to build the fence and new steps, purchase wood and build new veggie beds....