Our New Back Yard

The landscaping work in our back yard is finally done.  It was a big job that required removing a deck, breaking up and hauling away a cement pad, digging out randomly placed concrete blocks, installing a new back fence, grading the yard to a uniform level, and then putting in a patio, stepping stones, and some new greenery and shrubs.  No flowers yet, of course — Mom long ago drilled into me that you never plant flowers in the Midwest until after Mother’s Day — but we’ve got space for them when the time is right.

We love the result (and so do Penny and Kasey).  I particularly like the view, which not only gives us a good look at the brick of our German Village neighbors, but also a peek at the tops of some of the buildings in downtown Columbus.

With the completion of our back yard landscaping, we move one step closer to realizing our vision of what our new house will be.

 

Canine Construction Crew

We’re having work done in our backyard, so it’s torn up, but Penny and Kasey don’t seem to mind.  In fact, they just seem to enjoy being outside after a cold, icy winter.  Penny is perfectly happy to plop down just about anywhere — this blue tarp is just fine, thank you very much! — and wheelbarrows, plastic tubing, stray wooden boards, unearthed rocks, and holes in the ground are just more interesting things for Kasey to explore.

Falling Asleep In The Noonday Sun

Yesterday afternoon I took my book and a glass of water with some lemon juice out to the back yard.  I plopped down on our outdoor furniture under one of our trees, balanced the water glass somewhat precariously on the cool grass, and began to read.

After some enjoyable reading, my eyelids grew heavy, as I knew they would.  I tried to fight the sleepiness by moving around, taking a few sips of the cold water, and squinting extra hard at the page before me.  But — as the Borg would say — resistance was futile.  My head nods became more and more pronounced.  After a few feeble attempts at staying awake, the buzz of the insects, the heaviness of the warm air, and the coolness of the sun-dappled shade finally got me, and I drifted off.

After a time the tweeting of the birds, the bark of a dog, or the cry of one of the neighborhood kids — I’m not sure which — caused me to slowly surface from my slumbers.  I’m not sure how long I dozed, but when I reached for my glass it was still cool and dotted with perspiration, and a tiny shard of ice cube floated on top.  I crunched the holdout ice cube with pleasure, stretched until my old bones cracked, and went back to reading.

What better way to celebrate the pleasures of summer than falling asleep in the noonday sun, stretched out in close proximity to nature, feeling the warmth on your face and the drowsiness overcoming you?