The rest of the weekend that didn't end

I've already mentioned that our weekend of two (now three) weekends ago was pretty packed. Before I went to bed on Saturday, I started on project #2 for the weekend.

This side yard is vastly improved if you just look at the sunset instead.

But if you change your focus, you'll note: a lot of river rock.

Also: a faucet right next to a fence that makes it useless to the backyard.

I suggested adding a faucet for the back side yard. Ray wasn't as into that as you might have thought, so I managed to convince him there was another way.

When Ray was out buying faucets, he also picked up some wood, some mulch, and $20 worth of abused bedding plants (that being what one gets at a big box store, particularly halfway through the summer). I spent Saturday night clearing out most of the river rock between rainstorms, and Ray pulled the fence on Sunday while I cleared the rest, rototilled, and added some actual soil. One looong day later:


Ohh, look, more river rock! Lots more river rock.

Anybody want to haul out some river rock?

The plants in the foreground of last picture are actually raspberries that we pulled out of the old house in October. Fantastically, they survived the move and are now fighting out the mint for supremacy of the side yard (along with a lot of weeds... so very many weeds.. and some moss). The plants in the background are peas - my first successful ones, mainly because our neighbor overwaters and keeps our peas happy. And the plants in the background are the "professional landscaping" we've been mocking - two spyria, two junipers, an ash, and -hah!- more river rock.

Eventually we want to have a nice path coming from the front yard through the gate and then along the side yard. Fortunately, we didn't start on that, since I was expecting Ray to set the gate up very differently from what he did and the path would have been a bit odd with a fence in the middle of it. Regardless, that last bit of river rock in the front is headed out soon if I have any say. Particularly if I can get someone else to shovel it.

I'm also hoping to terrace out this whole slope for gardens - if you look at the drop off from the back patio, you'll see that it's a bit much for playing ball-associated games (unless you like balls in your peapatch), and this being Colorado, the north side of the yard seems to be our best bet for "sun-loving" plants (none of which seem to love 15 hours a day of high-altitude sun in the least). That, however, is a bit more of a project, to say the least. It wasn't happening this weekend.

For the record, I ran away from home and went kayaking the next weekend. Ray and E hung out with our friend Jimmy and did very little in the way of house-related work. It's all about balance around here.