it may be tiny, but it works [stock tank pool]

last spring, we were introduced to the latest pinterest craze, stock tank pools.  we had just lost a giant ancient bush and tree in the back corner of my yard, and we were talking about the possibilities for that space.  initially, we almost made it a fire pit area.  but then the idea of a way to cool down in our intense summer nights, and I was sold.

if you are interested in setting up your own stock tank pool, there are plenty of blogs with detailed directions on how to do so.
here are just a few quick words of advice from our trials & errors
first, yes, you do need a pump
trust me, you do
unless you want cloudy, icky, water, you do need a pump
we just use the intex above ground pool pump found here

second, use chlorine
as glorious as a saltwater pool sounds, it did not work in our experience
the galvanized metal and pump are not meshing well with the saltwater
our levels were always out of whack, and I think it may have put a little extra staining on the sides of my pool
it was really nice, until it wasn't
so just go chlorine for your stock tank pool
we got ourselves a little chlorine floater this season and our levels are perfect
easy peasy
third, make sure you attach your pump hoses well
if not, you will drain your pool
twice
into the yard behind you
thankfully for us, their yard is already always dead, so we didn't feel too bad
there are lots of ways to make your pump work for your stock tank
for us, the easiest was to drill a small hole near the top of the tank for a small zip-tie to hold the hose that is bringing the filtered water back into the pool
we worked with the awesome guys at our local hardware store
to get the proper fittings to make the water go through the drain valve and into the pump
eventually we may make this a little fancier
but if you are looking for quick and easy, this is my suggestion

finally

buy lots of pool floats
because your favorite thing to do will be to float in your pool
because
well, it really isn't for swimming
but floating and soaking, yes please and thank you
my favorite float spot is currently michaels, because cheap & coupons
and who knew they even carried pool floats, but they do, and they are cute
but ev is actually floating on a flamingo from the target dollar spot [seven dollars to be exact]
and the best part, ev has already used the pool a ton this season
last season, as soon as she learned how to swim, for real swim
she wasn't too into our little stock tank pool
so last summer, the pool was pretty much all mine
[not that I'm really complaining]
but I'm glad this year that she is already enjoying getting her float on too

see other stock tank posts here
oh, and where to buy the tank itself, feed stores of course

spring at home

if you would have asked me ten years ago about gardening, I probably would have laughed out loud.  gardening, what is that?  and me, no, not going to happen any time soon.  in my first years of teaching, I always got my pink slip due to california being in a major budget situation.  and every year, the school I was leaving would give me the obligatory plant goodbye.  thanks for the year, it was great, fast, and now you are gone, good luck plant.  and I would kill it in approximately two weeks.

eventually, I found my succulent obsession when planning the mr.'s 30th birthday party, and when those succulents were still alive on his 31st birthday, I realized I might be on to something.  desert plants are my jam.  and I've ran with that.

thankfully, I had my in-laws (gardening experts) help me spruce up our yard at our rental we had when ev was just a baby, and I started to get a little understanding of how things grow.  but not really a great handle, I was still buying plants just because I liked them, not necessary paying attention to how much sun they needed/wanted, how big they got, etc.  and consequently, nothing really thrived too much, but it worked for our time there.

however, all of these baby steps have landed me in our home now, our forever home, a home that I am very proud of the yard I have planted and seen flourish.  my raised beds have not a single vegetable, but thousands of thriving succulents and desert plants.  my backyard is buzzing with the hundreds of bees that have found a little piece of heaven in my yard this spring.  I just stumbled on a video of ev in our backyard when I first started planting it and I almost didn't recognize the space I have now become obsessed with.

By far her favorite souvenir ever. #everlymaeisthree #everlymae

A post shared by OliveEverly Blog (@oliveverly) on Oct 20, 2016 at 3:57pm PDT

I love working on little corners each season, our newest project included turning the sandbox that came with the house that ev never used into another little raised bed.  such a fun space to have right next to our stock tank pool.  much better than the pincher bug infested space it used to be.  even a nice cover doesn't keep out the tiniest of critters.

but most importantly, I love that I have a space that is truly magical for everly.  she loves playing in the backyard for hours.  she is always finding some new treasure.  like a fresh little caterpillar, or a ladybug like in the photo below, or that time I planted a new little tree and found a huge rollie-pollie colony.  she must have had 20 crawling on her arms at one time.  I remember how magical yards felt when I was her age, my grandma's backyard and the home I was born in just seemed huge and full of places to explore.  I'm glad that I can give everly a place just like that for her to play in!

 so, thanks spring, you are really feeling pretty perfect this year.  maybe my favorite spring yet. 

it started with a suggestion [stock tank pool]

I grew up swimming a ton in the brutal northern california summers.  there is nothing like a pool to keep your sanity, and I say that as we are currently in a week long stretch of 108 degree days [we sure picked the wrong week to go to lake tahoe, but a new adoption training for school has kept me from escaping this ridiculous heat].  and speaking of ridiculous, ripping apart my entire yard, and my finances, to put in a 50K pool wasn't really an option right now, but after a conversation with my sister about people turning stock tanks into pools, I was intrigued, and then obsessed, with making this a reality for my yard this summer.   and so we did it, in less than two weeks.  thankfully I had a lot of people to oblige my crazy requests, mostly my husband and father-in-law, the latter which tied down my 8 foot stock tank to the bed of his truck, and then had to retie said ties at least three times on our way home, all with an insane amount of confidence & calm. and you cannot forget my mother-in-law who volunteered to sit in the back with the tank - don't worry, we didn't let her!  but again, see the dedication I'm talking about. it was pretty endless.  ^many phases to this little project^

and because I missed my succulent garden that I left behind at our rental [not the succulents of course] I had to recreate the project, this time, acting as a mini- wall enclosing our new pool space. and the pallet that helped us get our pool home has been re-purposed as a little artwork for this space.  everly did a great job with the stenciling, she would have been very successful in the 90's.

and finally, our inflatables are from michael's, 

they are only $5 - and they let you use a coupon

so for $2.50, you better believe I have a ridiculous pool to float ratio

our stock tank was purchased from our Tractor Supply - make sure to call ahead to make sure they are available in your store, AND have them double check that the tank is not damaged before you go to purchase.  we learned the hard way, which meant a crazy amount of driving!

working mom playdates

working moms don't always have time for playdates during the regular work week - but being friends with a bunch of teacher-working moms is all good in the months of june & july [notice how I left out august, because, somehow, august is no longer a part of summer for schools around here].  today we played hard with some of our favorite littles, and their smiles really say it all!  I'll have to share more on our stock tank pool, but for now, we're just all smiles here.