Father's Daughter

Honestly, if you would of asked me this question in junior high and early part of high school, I would of said no way in hell.  Papa Smurf and I weren't really close, he was tough on me.  I don't want to say he ruled with an iron fist, because he didn't .  But, he does come from a long string of men that are tough men, don't show emotion, let alone talk about it.  Really, in my life I have seen him cry once, maybe twice.  The last when Grandma Schmidt passed.  He might of cried at Grandma Meedel's funeral too, but I was a train wreck so I wouldn't of had any idea.  You always had to see the little stuff he did to understand his love.  Take for example, softball, my love.  It wasn't until I was in a doctor's office before my senior year of high school and my dad was asking how my knee injury would impact my ability to play in college that I realized I might actually be good - no kidding.  Up until that point, I could tell you where my short comings in the game were.  That is my dad and now that I understand him and his ways, I love him and can't imagine having another dad but him.

So back to the matter at hand, Father's Daughter.  My dad LOVES to be outside.  We joke with him about his summer tans.  See, he gets engine brown on his back side and well his front side is more on the white side.  He spends so much time hunched over in the garden that only the back side gets tan.  I remember growing up my mom use to complain about how much the water bill was during the summer months.  She definitely was not impressed with the $100+ bills my dad managed to generate and he really didn't mind because he didn't pay the bills.  But, he did have the best looking yard in the neighborhood and maximized the small garden he had.  Heck, us kids were not even allowed to mow it most times because he had his way. 

Then they moved to an acerage.  I think my mom was going to flip a top the first summer they lived there and my dad was watering the "yard".  He carefully pointed out he was only water around the house to ensure the foundation didn't crack, etc.  It was a priceless moment. 

Now that I am older, I have found that I have become him.  I know that every time I mow the yard, I need to mow it from a different angle so you don't get the tracks in the lawn.  I spend hours outside on a bucket pulling weeds.  If my lawn isn't green and weed free, I look at it from the stand point my father would not approve.  With all that said, he just might approve of the front yard.  It is a little burnt between the sidewalk and the street just because I didn't get it watered after Scott's came out last time.  (Yes, I am a cheater and have someone fertilize & treat my yard for me.)  The backyard is still a work in progress and one I am not ready to take pictures of. 

All being said - it has come a long one in the two years I have lived there.  The photo below is just from last spring.  Hopefully I will see the same improvement in my backyard by next spring.

On a completely unrelated note, I have effective rid myself of Noname Guy #1 & Guy #2.