Future Farmers of America?

As you can tell from these pics, the twins like the yard so far. We're going to put them to hard work, er, I mean, get them to help once we get things growing in the ground. These garden boxes were already here from the previous owners and we plan on taking advantage and planting lots of vegetables in here.

To continue the edible garden theme, KLC and I just planted some raspberries and blueberries (they look like sticks at this point -- who knew?) in one of the newly constructed beds on the west side of the house. We're not expecting much of a yield, if anything, from these this year, but we think the kids will have fun picking the berries in the years to come. Also just in the ground: two dwarf pear trees. For someone who has been living in condo buildings with no yard of my own, this is a whole new adventure.

Finished Product

OK, the yard probably won't ever be "finished," but this phase of it is. We are very happy with how it turned out. Now all we need are a few plants back here ...

Progress

These guys work fast -- you can see progress on our patio in just the past couple of days. (These pictures are taken from our kitchen and playroom windows so I won't be stumbling in and around them while they are actually trying to do work. They are a little awkward but you can get an idea of what things are starting to look like.)

Plan B: No Shed

So a bit of a course correction: we are having them take the shed. KLC and I had gone back and forth on this topic, and had decided just to keep the shed for some storage. The idea was it would be there for a year or so until we could figure something better.

Well, after seeing the start of the demo, we realized that the improved yard would look weird with this ancient, somewhat decrepit shed in the middle. Plus, it would have been a pain for them to make a clean edge around it on the concrete pad. (For the record, my mom, without having seen the situation except through a few photos, was advocating the shed's removal for quite some time.)

Anyhow, the shed is gone. We're off to Portland in a couple of hours and we'll back on Sunday. Hopefully, we won't encounter any surprises when we get back ...

More 'Before' Pics

A few more shots of the yard for history's sake.

The 'Before' Pictures

As promised, here are some photos of the yard/carport as they currently look. Notice that the carport is painted a lovely red while the house is blue. This is not the reason why we're tearing it down, but it's a hint of the amount of attention given to it and the yard in recent years. (By the way, we will be keeping the shed that's attached to the carport. One of the projects we'll personally undertake later this spring or summer is painting it a reasonable color to actually match the house.)

So, first up, demolition is scheduled to start on Thursday. They say it should take them a day or so to rip off that roof, jackhammer the concrete, and haul everything away. I hope they have a big truck. They are going to need it.

Next Up: Home (Yard?) Improvement Project

When we bought our house, we did so for a variety of reasons. One of the main ones was that it needed virtually no work. The same can't exactly be said for the yard. This will all make more sense when I post some pictures (hopefully in the next couple of days.) Without the visuals, however, imagine a hodgepodge of efforts, probably spanning several decades, and at least two owners.

The moral of the story is that we and the kids will be living through various seasons of mud and dirt -- not to mention an unused carport -- if we don't do anything. Hence, the impetus for what will be known as The Project. It involves demo (of said carport and current semi-crumbling brick patio), leveling of the yard, the installation of new stone patio, laying of new sod, and hopefully, eventually, living plants.

We signed the contract on Saturday with our chosen company, so it's full speed ahead. The crew is supposed to show up on Thursday to get things going. For me, these things are always fraught with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. Start writing large checks to relative strangers? Sure. Hope everyone shows up on time and does what they are supposed? No problem. Well, maybe ... *

(* As a footnote to this bout of neuroses, I should point out that we did research this company, which does give a warranty for their work for 2 years, and they sound great. Therefore, this bit of panic is simply related to a condition that arises within me whenever committing to something that costs more than a quarter of a paycheck.)