Backyard - Stage 1

When I looked at the house and put an offer on it last May, the backyard was a sad sad little plot of land.  Lots of divots, crazy long grass/weeds, and well just all around it looked like nobody loved it.  So, without spending a fortune, here are the goals for my yard:

• make it usable 
• raised beds for gardening
• patio space of sorts
• shed
• remove swamp like puddles
• fill in the ankle-breakers (this yard is all kinds of lumpy!)
• give it a bit of a facelift 

So, I figured I'd post the pictures as the yard transforms.  So, to start at the very beginning, where it looks pretty horrible post-breakup.

I took these pictures about a week and a half ago, and already the difference in the amount of green I see now is just awesome.  :o)

Standing along the back fence line looking left.

Standing along the back fence line looking straight ahead to the back of the house (oh how I wish all those utilities were on the side...)

Again, from the back fence line looking right.

In between the houses (and coincidentally the area of most sunlight)

From the back "stoop" looking right.

From the back "stoop" looking left.  Why yes, I am so lucky to have Dr. Seuss-like utility poles in my yard!  :op   I'd love to have some sort of trees blocking out the back of the houses, but then I'd have no afternoon sun... 

So, project one two (because the first was using a hand pump to remove buckets upon buckets of water from the little "ponds" in my yard from the melting snow) was creating a raised bed.

I sawed one of the landscape timbers and it took me probably 10 minutes.  Kevin sawed through the rest.  Turns out he is significantly faster than I am.

Rudder was REALLY helpful, ya know, watching and all.

We used 12" stakes to drive through pre-drilled holes.  We measured and then had to drill through each timber because we didn't have a drill bit long enough to go through three layers.  Well, turns out that I didn't do such a hot job drilling because Kevin ended up just hammering these through, often in areas where that pre-drilled hole was a good 1/2" away.  Dang.  I tried to help with the hammering the stakes through, but I think it would have taken me 2 solid weeks.  Seriously.  I kept hearing my dad's [frequent] commentary when I'm hammering to "Come on, hit it! It's not going to bite you." :o)  I think I should stick to 3" nails, max.  ;o)

 

 

Lookin' cool in safety glasses. 

Admiring his treasure trove he's unearthed from the snow.

We also finished up planting our seedlings for the raised beds.  :o)

Sprouts! :o)

There's more going on in the yard, and an update will be coming soon('ish)!