Throughout the Year(s)

Based on the past few days it seems that Utah has decided once again to skip Spring and launch straight into the summer. For many people, summer is the best time to have a backyard. It means firing up the grill, eating outside, chilling on the porch, maybe playing in the pool, and enjoying warm summer nights. For kids, it could mean running through the sprinklers, spraying each other with the hose, playing with bubbles, jumping on the trampoline, or even just sitting in a nice puddle of mud.



However, I have lived in Utah long enough to know that it could snow next week. If/when that happens, does that signal an end to backyard fun? Of course not! When life gives you snow, you make a snow man! Or a snow fort. Or a snow angel. Or anything you want to. That, I think, is part of the magic of childhood. You do some exploring, take a look at what's around you, and have fun with it. It's something that kids are good at; something that comes naturally, and yet, it's something that we sometimes tend to become worse at as we grow older.



In a lot of ways, I still consider myself a kid. While we all have to grow up sometime, I think there are a lot of childlike qualities that we would do well to hold on to. After all, if you lose it completely, how are you going to teach your children how to build a snow man?

Charlie

It's nice having a good-sized backyard, because it is very hard to raise an "indoor" pig. This is the late Charlie, a pot-bellied pig who lived a long, full life and died of old age several years ago. When he was a piglet, we tried to keep him inside. It was a lot of fun for all of my cousins and I. Pigs really do make great pets...



...until they break into the cupboards and start eating the flour. Shortly after this incident, Charlie became an "outdoor" pig, which worked out great because he ate all of the under-ripe and rotten apples off of our lawn after they'd fallen from the tree.

Also important to keep in mind: pigs are difficult to house-train.

Fetch!

These days if you look out the window into the back yard, chances are that you will see my dad playing with his dog, Todd. Well, that is admittedly exaggerated, but this event takes place at least once a day, almost without fail. Todd seems to have no greater joy than when he is chasing the segment of thick rope that my dad throws around the yard, jumping over fences when it gets thrown too far and sometimes crashing into things in his enthusiasm. His favorite game (and the one that I find most amusing) is as follows: My dad puts the rope in a tree and Todd springs after it relentlessly until he's caught it. Sometimes this requires many attempts:



The funniest part is, I'm not sure who gets more enjoyment out of this: man, or his best friend.

Mowin' da Lawn

As with nearly all things in life, there are pros as well as cons to having a large backyard. This week's entry is about one of the cons. Having a big lawn is great as a kid. It gives you more room to run around and chase animals and other children, more room to jump through the sprinklers and spray each other with the hose and all of those great things. If you're willing to risk hopping fences and broken windows, you can even play a game of baseball! The more space you have, the more your legs are allowed to keep up with your imagination and it's all fun and games…until someone has to mow it.

I love the smell of freshly-cut grass as much as the next guy, but I've never been a huge fan of mowing the lawn. In fact, I don't think anyone ever has been except for Forrest Gump, and that's just because he had a riding mower. Well, that might not be completely true…I thought it was terribly novel and exciting the first time I was old enough the mow the lawn. I think I even enjoyed the second time, too! By the third time, I'd had enough. But I shouldn't complain…it's a small price to pay for warm weather and greenery, right? I'll leave you to decide for yourself, but first I'll give the final word to James Dent:

"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken."

Olden Times

I decided I was long overdue for some older pictures. This is what the backyard looked like around twenty years ago.



My dad loves to garden. I'm not sure why that didn't transfer over to me; I didn't even like most vegetables until I turned nineteen. However, I did enjoy the pumpkins that my parents grew some years for Halloween!

Tree at my Window

My father planted this tree decades ago when he first moved into the house. Now at over fifty feet tall, it towers over the yard, swaying with the breeze and standing as a living landmark of years past. A glance out of any window on the Eastern side of the house reveals its form silhouetted against the sky.



Tree at my Window by Robert Frost

Tire Swing

Is there anything as classically simple as a tire swing? When it comes to playground equipment, I submit that there is not! (Especially the vertically-hanging variety, as seen here.) To me, the tire swing serves as a reminder of how anything at all - even things that most people would normally consider garbage - can be the best toy ever in the eyes of a kid. Does it matter that it was found on the side of the road? Not really - as long as you can swing on it.

Remember when the best thing about getting a new refrigerator was getting to play in the box? I sure do. My brother and I turned ours into a space shuttle.