Yeah, lots of stuff going on, but that is the typical Spring time stuff I think. I am a lot more ambitious this year it seems.
First, the garden beds. I did not want to put in garden beds that sat on the ground. Therefore, I built ones that are elevated. They were quite easy to make. The toughest part was making sure I had strong enough braces across the bottom.
I went with 2×4 sides, but decided on 1×4 for the bottom. A little less expensive, but they would give another 3/4″ dirt depth. Also not as heavy as 2×4, and weight is a consideration.
Bottom and sides before building
Once the sides were built I put the legs on with lag bolts. Then I put the bottom in.
Completed box
Completed box
All that dirt in bags was supposed to fill all 3 units but somehow I managed to miscalculate and did not get enough! I had enough for 2 of the 3, so I filled the two that needed to get used right away. The strawberry plants I got a couple weekends ago were getting too big for their little pots, so I put them in the one bed right away. We got some cherry tomato plants for the other one. I have a variety of seeds (well, little plants now!) started. They will be put in during the next couple weeks.
I attached the drip-style sprinklers to the frames and got them all plumbed into the sprinkler system. No reason not to have the garden be automatically watered! The tomatoes and other items in the box next to the house will have drip units instead of sprinklers.
Completed beds with some plants in them
Sprinklers
Flowers, seat, and birdbath
Patio
Patio
I saw this at Gordmans, but did not buy it. Maybe I should.
Home of a Spoiled Rotten Dog
That would not be referring to this dog would it?
Is she spoiled rotten?
No doubt about it, she is!
Yeah, I guess she is spoiled rotten!
I mentioned in a previous post that I was doing some work to make the place look better. The front yard is done and now I am working on the back. I started off going along the back of the house from the patio to the house corner. One of the problems is that the yard was never really leveled off properly. It was very difficult to make the border level, but did the best I could. It actually turned out pretty good.
Back yard
Back yard
At least I managed to make it pretty straight.
I got rid of the stuff that had been lining the fence by the gate. There was a ton of stuff there. All gone now, off to the dump. I took some pieces from the old shed and made a kind of lean-to against the house to cover the lawn equipment and hand tools that don’t fit in the garage. I seeded the bare spots but the weather is just not warm enough to start grass seed very well yet. I put some brick under the gate and attached a new board to keep my dog from digging her way out.
Back yard
There is still some stuff to the left that I need to do something with. The bikes, a large patio table, a couple of patio chairs, etc. Those need to go somewhere else. I am going to use that area to put in some raised garden beds. I would like to grow some stuff this year and that is going to be the way to do it. More projects…
On the other side of the patio, I had the grill set on some stone and wood stilts off the edge. It was a royal pain to keep neat because the grass would grow real tall under and around it. I decided to border that area and fill it with bark mulch. I then put just one layer of stone pieces on top and put the grill on it. I also moved it farther away from the house. That gave a little space to store the extra chairs.
Back patio
Lots of work, but it is looking pretty good!
NOT!!!!!!
New Stuff
Eagle Hills Golf Course
My co-worker Lorren has a picture of Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard on the wall at work. Poor Patrick’s head looked a little bare, so I added some hair to him. I don’t think Lorrne has noticed yet.
Handlebars