Tom and I are still working on stuff in and around our house.  Now that the weather is nice, we decided to tackle our very un-level front lawn.  Most lawns have some holes or ups and down, but ours had several areas that had sunk over time so that water was collecting and pooling.  Whenever it rained, Tom would peer anxiously out the windows, worrying that the water was headed for our crawlspace.  He raised the beds around the house up last fall, but that created even more of a valley on the other side of the beds.

After lots of research (because we do as many hours of research before a project as we do during the project) we decided to put topsoil in the low places and reseed the lawn.  Tom started by digging a trench in the front of the house and filling it with gravel.  Then we had six cubic yards of topsoil delivered by Kurtz Brothers.  John and Jackie came over on Saturday to help us move the topsoil.  Tom was the foreman, telling us where we needed more dirt to level the lawn.  John and Tom were indefatigable, but Jackie and I had to take some rest breaks.  It was amazing how fast it went with their help.

Once we had all the dirt spread out so that the lawn was as level as it could be, the hired help went home with our gratitude.  On Sunday, Tom and I put down fertilizer, then grass seed, and then topped it all off with some straw.  The weekend was beautiful, perfect for working outside.  It has been followed by a gorgeous week of sunshine and warm temperatures.  Perfect for growing grass seed as long as it has plenty of water.

Of course, we would plant our seed during the warmest and driest week of the year.  We have been out watering the grass seed an average of five hours a day.  At first Tom said we didn’t need a sprinkler – it would waste water.  But, after watching me stand in the yard for an hour watering just a portion of the grass, he decided he would have a happier home life if he paid the $20 for a sprinkler.  So now I set the sprinkler, set the timer on my phone, and move the sprinkler every hour.  Once the grass seed sprouts and takes root I won’t need to water as much.

I am not someone who needs a perfect lawn, but it will be good not to have the ponds of water gathering when it rains.  Better for the house, better for the lawn, and better for Tom.

How about you?  How does your lawn look these days?