Our Backyard

While this has very little to do with the girls, other than now they have more room to play and less space in which to get muddy, Dada has worked so hard on this project that we have to show it off.

The construction zone is completed... for now.


Here is what the back yard looked like before the work was started.

This is looking to the south side of the back yard, from the patio. Basically we had two levels, both levels were fairly small. The entire yard slopes toward the house, so there is a need for something, but the wall we had chopped up the yard significantly.

This is looking north, along the back of the house. You can see how little space we had below the wall.
Even the widest part was not much wider than the small climber we have.
The top part wasn't much better, as there was maybe 6 feet up there. Plus, the wall created a great make-shift balance beam and launching pad for little Miss Dare Devil.


The plan was to push the wall back and make a raised planter in front of the fence and increase the size of the lower level.

So, Dada went to work.

Unfortunately, the photographer (Mama) kind of forgot to take pictures of the progress, so you'll have to look beyond the kids, to the background to see the hard work.




Once the sod was cut and the dirt was cleared, Dada needed to dig down, level the ground, and put down the gravel before he could start putting in the new wall.




Needless to say, we are all so happy it is done, but none more thrilled than Dada. No more sod cutting, taking apart the wall - one block at a time, no more moving 5 or 6 yards of dirt - one wheel barrow at a time, and no more rebuilding the wall - one block at a time. Ugh! He's our hero though!

Here is our new space.

Looking north, with the house off to the right. We fenced in the bed for the fall/winter to keep kids and dogs out. The plan is to plant some fruit trees along the fence. We are also planning on putting our tomatoes up there next summer - partially because we want to expand our garden, partly because... well... just look at our current garden below. We weren't sure what would take - apparently almost everything.

We overestimated what the garden could hold. Notice the cucumbers (nearest to the camera) trailing over the fence, and ready to head down the stairs and the tomatoes (farthest from the camera) pushing the fence over. Oops!

Looking south, house to the left. You can see the beautiful new sod we decided to put in.
There used to be another wall here by the stairs, but we had to always have a ramp to get the lawn mower up and down. So, Dada did a wonderful job of filling it in and creating a slope for the grass.


Yay Dada!