As part of our landscaping plan, we’re creating beds in the front of the house to get the grass away from the building.  This weekend’s project is to prepare the grassy area between the house and the sidewalk.  I actually took this picture a couple of months ago after I’d torn out the overgrown bushes next to the house.  I then used a tiller to plow the grass under, but got stopped in my tracks by over a month of heavy rains.  Tilling, of course, didn’t kill the grass.  On the contrary, it loosened the soil so that grass and weeds could grow much better.  Today I got the tiller out and plowed the (much thicker and greener) grass under again, and then added three yards of compost to the soil.  Tomorrow I’ll till the compost into the soil and level the ground (sloping it away from the house), and start laying mulch to prevent grass and weeds from coming back.  We probably won’t plant anything until the fall, as it’s coming on to the hot and dry season here when the plants that were so green in the spring shrivel up and die for lack of water.  Running a tiller is work, especially when I have to stop every minute or so to remove a rock.  Between today and the first time I tilled this area, I’ve pulled three trailer loads of rocks from that area.  When I go to plant trees, I’m hiring a backhoe.