Making Plans

As a contrast to Bob’s computer schematics, Liz had her own map (of future backyard plans). I suspect there’s more in store for us in the back, now that we have a new fence back there.
As a contrast to Bob’s computer schematics, Liz had her own map (of future backyard plans). I suspect there’s more in store for us in the back, now that we have a new fence back there.
With coffee in hand, Liz and I started off the day by going into the backyard and completing the final garden box. We began things in March, and what was supposed to be a weekend project has taken us… more like two months, versus two days.
It is… enormous! It feels massive, and weird, and awesome. There’s a part of me that feels like I’ve just snubbed our neighbors in a very big way, but there’s another part of me that feels like we’ve taken a big step into turning our backyard into a private little retreat.
Today, the actual installation! Every crew we spoke with was really great (incredibly polite and very attentive to all our questions). These two guys told us that the process itself was pretty quick, once everything was in place.
Today, the first part of our new fence was installed. Two guys came by to pour the concrete and set up the posts – and we arrived home to find a rough outline of where our new fence would be.
Until now, I’ve been nervous about us finishing things in time. We’ve been working pretty hard recently (4 out of the last 5 days), and it feels like we’ve rushed right back into a period of busyness immediately after our vacation.
Me showing off a really large and really old garden stake that was buried in the ground. Presumably, the top half rusted away at some point. Who knows how long this has been here?
Did I mention that we encountered some brick during the course of our work?
We’re working with a company to handle the old fence removal and new fence installation. Though we’ve gotten more used to the idea of us doing most things ourselves… nearly everyone we’ve spoken with has recommended we hire someone to handle the actual fence installation.
I was definitely nervous about getting the hole placement wrong. And doubly nervous about cutting into the pond liner. I wante to make sure the hole wasn’t too large, because otherwise… we’ve just punched a hole into a very large swath of very expensive material, and made ourselves a custom water leak.
Still, it was a nice moment. It’s been a while since I’ve been surprised by sunlight in my apartment. And I guess this is the first time it’s happened to me here, in my first house.
Last night, we decided that we needed to focus on just getting one of the garden boxes set up – as Liz has a certain planting schedule she’s trying to keep. So while we’ve been working on two boxes, we shifted to just work on getting one fully up and running.
Once we were ready to take things outside, we were greeted with… a small snow shower. This would be a recurring thing on a very unusual day, weather-wise.
Tonight, Bob stopped over with Julie and helped us configure our new miter saw. We got a 12″ 60 tooth blade, which he showed us how to install. Unlike normal screws, the one used for the blade actually works in reverse. A regular screw, when rotating with the blade, would become more loose over time. So that’s why it’s reversed – in that if anything, it will become tighter, not looser.
We’ve done a lot to convert the space back here into an actual yard. And this spring, we’ll be hopefully making it into a space where we can spend more time – with one another, and with friends. We’ve done plenty of removing. Looking forward to adding more this year.