My Third Post (Part 2)

That night I laid in bed dreaming up a plan. Our back yard is somewhat awkwardly shaped, much longer than it is wide, and that has always ended up tanking any ideas I ever had for the space. As I entered that stage just before REM sleep, you know, where you still can think, but not move, ideas started forming and clicking into place in a way they never did before. I had a plan. By now it was three AM – three hours before I had to get up for work. Who cares, I have a plan! I wrote it out and woke up my wife to share in the moment. She was less than excited, but to be fair she was far more understanding then I would have been under those circumstances.

      So the plan – here it is. Pave off half that long, muddy yard in the area immediately behind the house, creating a patio about 35 feet wide and 30 feet long. Where the pavers meet the grass, add a chain link fence – this will make the “back 40” of the yard officially the Dog’s turf. Between the house and the attached garage goes a privacy trellis, otherwise I’ll always feel “on display” for the neighbor. Over the patio goes a pergola, under which will be the grill, the patio table I made two years ago, and maybe a couple of wood lounge chairs I’ve been considering building later in the year. A fire ring will go just outside the pergola, toward where the fence will be. The bulk of the patio however will be given to a water fountain I built last year with a small, above ground pond, surrounded by something I’m trying for the first time this year – a container based vegetable garden. Locating it near the house, I’ll be able to use rain barrels to capture water off the roof to use for the plants. I’d also like to add solar power to the top of the pergola someday, but that’s another project. I’ll see if I can get a scan of my late-night sketches of the project posted for part 3.