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hauling rocks = happy Nikki
Oct. 15th, 2013 04:09 pmWe spent many hours working in the yard this weekend -- mostly clean-up work and lots of hauling rocks. Like, 25 bags of pea pebbles and several wagons full of concrete chunks. It was awesome. We measured out a spot for a garden bed on the side of the house (probably for some herbs and other things that tolerate sun and mild neglect) and started clearing debris. At the side of the backyard shed, where it gets muddy and where the dogs go bananas trying to get at neighbor dogs through the fence, we put in something of a swale with really big/rough concrete chunks. They're reluctant to put their paws on that stuff, so perhaps it'll be a deterrent.
We also laid the concrete pavers for the fire pit I got for my birthday, and had a fire (complete with s'mores) on Saturday night. Looking to put new lengths of wood in the old benches so we'll have some permanent seating out there, too. That will be groovy. But the big news is that I finally have my rain barrels! Yes, we're installing them in the wrong season and will have to winterize them soon, but I'm delighted that, after years of wanting them, I finally have one (with another positioned for overflow). We've been reluctant to plant much of anything in the back yard because it's so hard to get water back there, and now that problem is solved.
This coming weekend, I'll get to trimming back some shrubberies and dead-heading all the annuals/perennials that are past their time. And start scoping out sources of straw bales for what will be our back yard vegetable garden next year. Nothing horribly ambitious -- just, you know, onions and tomatoes and basics like that -- but still nice progress. By the time the bales have outlived themselves, we'll know what we want to do for a more permanent garden layout back there. At least, that's the idea. :)
We also laid the concrete pavers for the fire pit I got for my birthday, and had a fire (complete with s'mores) on Saturday night. Looking to put new lengths of wood in the old benches so we'll have some permanent seating out there, too. That will be groovy. But the big news is that I finally have my rain barrels! Yes, we're installing them in the wrong season and will have to winterize them soon, but I'm delighted that, after years of wanting them, I finally have one (with another positioned for overflow). We've been reluctant to plant much of anything in the back yard because it's so hard to get water back there, and now that problem is solved.
This coming weekend, I'll get to trimming back some shrubberies and dead-heading all the annuals/perennials that are past their time. And start scoping out sources of straw bales for what will be our back yard vegetable garden next year. Nothing horribly ambitious -- just, you know, onions and tomatoes and basics like that -- but still nice progress. By the time the bales have outlived themselves, we'll know what we want to do for a more permanent garden layout back there. At least, that's the idea. :)
