This will officially be my second summer in New York, so I’ve finally started settling down and getting comfortable in our home. We’ve been redecorating just about every room in our house, set up baby Charlie with a beautiful new nursery and finally started to beautify the outside of our home. This past weekend we spent several hours outside with some helpful inspiration from National Fuel in a successful attempt to beautify our front garden area with some annual flowers. They were generous enough to provide us with a gardening kit and a couple flowers to get us started in honor of National Garden Week.

Most important is that no matter where you live, you should always call 811 before any digging project. Whether it’s building a deck, installing a fence or mailbox, putting up a swingset or planting a garden or tree. This goes for all projects, even if you’re hiring a professional. Call Before You Dig is a reminder to call 811 at least 2 days and no more than 10 days prior to digging.

I took a trip to our local hardware store to pick out some new black mulch, a giant cart full of various flowers, and a new water hose to keep those bad boys alive. My father-in-law managed the long journey across the street to lend some tools and assist with the removal of old mulch and weeds. After distributing the new mulch, Sara and Fox joined us to pick out flower locations and plant them.

I had some peace of mind knowing that I wasn’t in danger of striking a utility line before undergoing our small project. I discovered that every six minutes an underground utility line is damaged because someone decided to dig before calling 811.

We have some family coming into town next week and although our schedule is jam-packed with projects, it feels good to check this one off the list. If you need any more information about when to call 811, just visit www.call811.com.