a year but not a day too soon (or, the prodigal returns)
it took me a year (actually a tad bit longer than that) to return with an update on the garden make-over. But it's a work in progress and far from being done. Did I mention earlier that in August 07 I got married? So now there is two to toil over the beautification project.
***
ahem, a quick aside - watching C mow the lawn, I realized that I did not know the first thing about mowing and had done a horrible job up until he took over. what can i say? i was born and raised in a system where grass was not a priority - not unless you were the hired help to care for it. but that is neither here nor there...
***
so... back to the garden. the last update was the backyard. work still is on-going and here's what i did (read: had done) this summer. and what a difference it makes. first, the big ol ponderosa pine is no more. on one hand, i say thank god, on another i do think it's a pity. if only it was a less messy tree. but it took $800 to get out of my hair. now i have additional living space. the (tiny) backyard that was unusable before (thanks to the pine) is now the venue for every evening meal. how can that be a bad thing? the pine tree does not seem to have provided a lot of shade to the house because the a/c unit is going at it's old pace and does not seem to be taxed any more than usual. so i need not have worried on that account at all. sure the tree was big and tall but, in retrospect, entirely useless.
so this is what the yard looks like post-tree removal. the stump, btw, is still there - may be as a memento or rather to avoid the extra hassle of having to call a fence guy again to fill in the gap. either way. a token remains of its majestic, useless presence:
a mighty stump
Also noteworthy are the following before-and-after shots:
after - july 2008
before - july 2007
and going even further back in time:
in the beginning - july 2005
***
ahem, a quick aside - watching C mow the lawn, I realized that I did not know the first thing about mowing and had done a horrible job up until he took over. what can i say? i was born and raised in a system where grass was not a priority - not unless you were the hired help to care for it. but that is neither here nor there...
***
so... back to the garden. the last update was the backyard. work still is on-going and here's what i did (read: had done) this summer. and what a difference it makes. first, the big ol ponderosa pine is no more. on one hand, i say thank god, on another i do think it's a pity. if only it was a less messy tree. but it took $800 to get out of my hair. now i have additional living space. the (tiny) backyard that was unusable before (thanks to the pine) is now the venue for every evening meal. how can that be a bad thing? the pine tree does not seem to have provided a lot of shade to the house because the a/c unit is going at it's old pace and does not seem to be taxed any more than usual. so i need not have worried on that account at all. sure the tree was big and tall but, in retrospect, entirely useless.
so this is what the yard looks like post-tree removal. the stump, btw, is still there - may be as a memento or rather to avoid the extra hassle of having to call a fence guy again to fill in the gap. either way. a token remains of its majestic, useless presence:
Also noteworthy are the following before-and-after shots:
and going even further back in time:
