Hard at work

We've been spending a lot of time comtemplating ways we can improve the value of our house and be of use to ourselves as well. Our yard has been in need of some care. We would like to get it to a point where it is more self sustaining, lush, and relaxing (if such a thing exists). I've not been a good plant tender, but we've decided to give it a try this year. I'm beginning to get more and more excited about it as this house is now the longest I have EVER lived in one place. We never had a garden or experimented with plants when I was growing up because we were always about to move. Whether we stay here much longer or not, it's a good feeling to think that we might one day have a beautiful backyard get away.

We've began the process.

The weekend before last it was Girl vs. Oregon Grape aka evil holy like bush. It could also be known as a wasp magnet or allergy death trap. Take your pick! I won. Leo went to tote the MANY bags of it off to the dump. He loaded the ol' SU-Van and left the bags there for a few hours before he left. We have a proper amount of spiders in our van now. Just enough to land on me while driving and scare the living daylights out of me! Ugh.

This past weekend we decided to build a pergola. We cleared the ground, set up the wall, built the structure, and put down little rocks. Don't be fooled, little rock doesn't mean light rocks. Leo and I both hurt in places we never thought muscles existed. Me more than Leo... which makes me feel silly as he did the majority of the grunt work. I came to realize that girls (at least this one) weren't built to do the same things a guy can do. Leo was a real trooper!

So here are the pictures. Keep in mind. The pergola will have some hanging frames and candles... perhaps some twinkle lights on top, cushions on seats (and hopefully some fun chairs I can revamp), the garden area will have mulch, hydrangea's and other various ground cover. The fence will have a big mosaic I made, more pots.... this is just the beginning. I'm hoping our backyard will be lush.... that is if our dogs don't eat it. We'll see if I can keep things alive! For now we are ready to utilize our nice new area. It's so much nicer in person.