Monday, Jake, our landscaper spent the entire day carefully redistributing the soil in our back yard. He graded a gradual ramp down to the dock and took out all the unnecessary humps, hills and valleys so that a smooth sloping lawn can be planted. Eight loads of rich loam/peat/sand topsoil topped the job, and one extra load was delivered to the front yard for future use.
Jake left a heavy metal screen to use as a drag for smoothing the soil before raking and rolling. My husband and I took turns on our 4-wheeler pulling the drag, it took nearly four hours to smooth the surface. Two high school boys helped with the raking and rolling. I am very grateful for their help. Lawn rakes are three times the size of an ordinary rake and my arms wear out quickly.
Rolling is another venture into other muscle groups. The roller is a huge round metal drum, and when filled with water quite heavy. It has a handle attached and can be pushed or pulled across the surface to compact the soil. Since our yard slopes downhill to the water, rolling down is not a problem. In some areas it took both boys on the handle to roll uphill. If we didn’t have the boys help I’m sure that my husband and I would still be looking at the roller at the bottom of the hill, scratching our heads and wondering how to get it back up.
This morning we will broadcast seed with a spreader, rake again and begin the daily chore of month long watering. We should see our first tender green shoots in about 21 days!
Gail Niebrugge, Alaska Artist
