Backyard Progress

One of the best things about our new house was the backyard.  We back right up against the nature preserve, so there is no house back there, just deer, turkeys, fox, and the occasional owl.  However, the old owners had let it get a little out of control, and the space was not that usable.   These pictures are AFTER my father-in-law cleared out about 20 dead trees.  That big oak tree was hidden behind smaller, dead trees.  Our goal was to create a flat space around the oak tree, to have more usable space for us and for the kids to play. 




After a few weeks of clearing, we got to start building the wall!  Note, all the bricks for the retaining wall.

Of course, any chance to use power machines, and the Nate and his dad were all about it :)  You can see how it is starting to flatten out.

Seriously, these things each weighed 60 lbs, and there were over 16 pallets of then.  I wanted to cry when the delivery truck showed up. 

It took about 3 straight days to get all the bricks laid out.  It was a ton of work, and I was sore for days!  The baby deer (left) and her mom decided t check out the new flat area.

After we were all done with the bricks, we laid some seed on the hill.  We will lay sod on the flat area in the spring, after the dirt has settled over the winter.  We also purchased a playground off craigslist.  There are swings that will also be added to this area.

Here are some pictures to give you a better feel of the lay of the land:

 

There is still some cleanup to do come spring, but I am so happy with the outcome.  This was by far the biggest project we have taken on... and we could not have done it without my father-in-law!  We are already huge fans of the pay area, and we have plenty of more ideas to enhance the fun.