You know it's Spring in Arizona when...

Can I just tell you how much I love Spring in Arizona. I always wonder in the Summer why I live in the hottest place in the world (not really but it sure feels like it). But in the Spring, I know why I live in such a beautiful place. I can leave the doors open all day and get a piece of the outdoors into my house. I can go outside my door anytime I want, and see all of this:

My favorite climbing rose full of snowball blooms.

The wildflowers popping up to say hello.

The citrus trees in bloom that fill the air with their beautiful fragrance.

The grass changing colors from brown to green.

The garden making a fresh start for the new season.

Black Gold

I have been working on a compost pile in my backyard for a couple of years. I haven't really used any of the compost but it has been a place where I could dump my yard clippings, food scraps, and fallen leaves so that it didn't have to go to the landfill. We have been talking about putting some gravel down in our backyard where it is currently dirt. This posed a bit of a problem because that is where said compost pile is currently located. I now needed to find a new place for the pile. I looked online at several composters but they were all WAY out of my price range (like into the hundreds of dollars). Then I "googled" homemade composters and I found the STEAL of a lifetime. The City of Phoenix recycles their old broken garbage cans into composters. They cut off the bottom of the cans and drill holes in them. However, the best part was that they were only $5. I know! Can you believe it? It was a little bit of a drive to obtain one, but I tell you what, I haven't been this excited about anything in a long time. Then to make it even better, I went to dig up the pile to put it in the barrell... it was in fact Black Gold. It was beautiful compost and if you look at the picture below, you can see that I have quite a bit left over even after filling my bin. I might have to go get another bin next week. But like I said, totally worth every penny of gas and all the driving time. Now I can put the rock in my backyard and still get the benefit of my compost pile!

Mud is FUN!

So while working on the backyard today... this is what the boys did:

The neighbors watered their trees today and the excess water streamed into our backyard making a giant mud puddle! I told the kids to strip down to their underwear and have at it. So much fun for them and what a mess!