Rabbit Season

When we moved from Utah to Texas in 2010, one of the things we the Scout Master most looked forward to was not having to do as much yard work.  We loved the farm life for a season, but after seven years, that season definitely came to an end for us.  The lot sizes here are significantly smaller than they are in Mendon, so we before we moved, we lightened our load, and returned the riding lawn mower to my father-in-law.  

We left our chickens, our barn cats, our apple trees and our one acre lot in Utah and planned on living a less rural life in Allen.  

But even a 1/4 acre lot requires some maintenance, and in the blazing 100+ degree summers, no one looked forward to mowing the lawn.  The tiny task of mowing our little postage stamp of  a yard in our rental home became a monumental chore.  So when we moved across the street the following summer to a beautifully manicured yard that came with a lawn service, we were overjoyed.  (Well, ok it didn't actually come with the lawn service, but the guy who had mowed for the previous owners knocked on our door the day we moved in and asked if we would like him to continue.  We enthusiastically said, "YES!")  The following week we purged everything that looked like a yard tool out of our garage.  

Our lawn guy's name is Beto, but his business is called Rabbit's Lawn Service, so the kids and I have come to affectionately refer to him as "Rabbit."  And he is the nicest guy on the planet.  He takes so much time to carefully mow, edge, and blow away all the grass every two weeks.  He waves when he sees us.  He stops the blower when one of the kids walks out the front door...which is every five minutes in the summer.  We always look forward to seeing Rabbit's white truck parked in front of our house because it means that a beautiful yard is in our near future.  

We haven't seen that white truck in the neighborhood since about November when winter officially started and all the grass died.  And then one day last week, there was the white truck, parked in front of our neighbor's house.  Hallelujah!  It was time for Rabbit to come back.   The Scout Master ran across the street and practically hugged our long lost lawn friend.  I overheard a conversation about mulch, tree trimming and new sod in an unfortunate spot right by the front door.  And then on Monday, Rabbit was at our house bright and early, truck overflowing with yard things, ready to make our house look like spring instead of winter.  It took him ALL DAY and part of the next day, but the result was totally worth it!  

Our house is officially ready for spring.  Beautified, trimmed and mowed.

And here's why I love that Rabbit so much.  These little white rocks were in the dirt behind a bush near the front door.  McKay picked them up months ago on his way home from school and attempted to let them live INSIDE the house.  When I didn't think that was the best plan, he must have opened the door and tossed them outside.  And they've stayed there all winter.  But on Monday when Rabbit asked me to come outside and look at his work, I noticed that those little white rocks were still there, carefully picked up out of the old dirt, set aside while the mulching happened, and placed back in the exact same little haphazard clump they have been in since November.  That's why we love Rabbit.  He's just careful and kind and attentive to the little details.  

I'm so grateful that spring brings back all the beautiful things about this place, and that Rabbit comes with it.