Birthday work party

I used my "it's my birthday" leverage to get what I really wanted: free labor. I invited people over to do two hours of yard work and promised them soup and birthday cake. It turned out to be a great party; people told me they had fun and we finished a vast amount of work in one hour, not two.

Jo digs the new rain garden.

John fleshes out the rain garden.

Julie, in her traditional work cap, emerges from the side yard which she and John turned.

Matt, Sabrina and Heidi straighten my rows.

Julie, Jo, Mia and John pose for a picture standing in the new rain garden.

Dana, who also straightened rows, broadcasts clover seed.

Matt and Sabrina pose. Sabrina discovered she loved hoeing.

I had everyone shell radish and favas while I heated the soup.

Shelling is one of those incredibly boring jobs when done on your own, but quite fun with other people.

We had Chili, Autumn Vegetable Soup, fresh baked bread and Coconut Cake.

Thanks everyone, for getting all that work done! It was the best present ever.