By By MARCIA STEFFENS / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Grandchildren, nieces and nephews, "there is always a child here," Dorothy Pitcher said of her home near Barron Lake on Douer.
With a tire swing, inground swimming pool and lots of room to run, it is no wonder relatives, neighbors and friends often gather at the home of David and Dorothy.
On a hot day, like the many we have experienced already this summer, the Pitchers' backyard has been filled with children splashing and adults visiting and relaxing.
Her lush greenery and flowers fill most areas around her house and front porch, offering a peaceful retreat.
"I just put things in and hope they grow. Deadheading, fertilize and water – you have to water," she said.
Deadheading, removing the dead blooms, is also important as the plant will then work on new flowers, she explained.
A retired home health aid, she waters the front one day and the back of the house the next. She would try to tell you she really doesn't have a green thumb, but her many landscaped areas that surround her yard tell a different story.
Her hostas are huge, even the ones which are only a few years old. Items like an old red wagon are also used for decoration, as are bricks around the flower beds.
Everything seems to thrive. Ivy, which she thinks must have been brought in on another plant, has filled in around the plants behind the pool.
Her husband David, who is retired from AM General and drives full time for Dial-A-Ride, does the mowing.
She wasn't quite ready to have him home full-time, so she is glad he has something to do, she said with a chuckle..
The Pitchers have two children, Tammy (Mike) Miller and David, who lives in Kalamazoo, and four grandchildren.
Tammy added to the wonderful backyard with the gift of a firepit around which family and friends gather regularly, for Dorothy's last birthday. She is wondering what she will receive this August, as the last gift cost her $500 to extend her patio.
Other gifts of old fashion street lights have added to the charm of the backyard and made the entrance more inviting.
A day after a new light was recently installed in the front yard, it looked like it had been there a long time, as Pitcher quickly put pots of flowers around the base.
With a cooking and barbeque area in the back of the house and lots of tables and chairs, the Pitchers rarely use their indoor kitchen in the summer, she said.
With three cats ("the grandchildren keep bring them") and the flowers and plants to take care of, they rarely travel during this season.
One tradition though she has had for about eight or nine years is to go out to dinner during the week with a group of four to six friends.
"We go about four or five hours, drive around the lake and try out new restaurants. In the winter we stick closer to home," she said.
She likes going on other trips and will soon do a trip to the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minn.
She usually visits Las Vegas, Nev., once or twice a year. "I always win … I don't know why," she said.