Backyard Vacation: Transforming Our Yard into a DIY Retreat with Ongoing Projects

Welcome to Veranda Beach.

Do you have big plans for the summer? I’m hoping ours will involve warm temps and sunshine, both of which have been muy absent for the past week. I actually dragged out a light winter jacket last Saturday for an outdoor party we attended. Yeesh!

Believe it or not, I’m not a huge fan of summer travel vacations. Summer here in the Buffalo environs is (usually) LOVEly!

I would much rather not leave the area when it’s at its peak. Also, there’s another small detail: my dear Mr rarely takes time off of work. Not that we haven’t taken vacations, but they’re very difficult to arrange and thus, do not happen often.

SOOOO… without an ounce of complaint or regret, I can tell you that our backyard is where we vacation most. We looove our yard…it has several places to sit and relax, swim and play. And sometimes, “play” means “holy crap, will this be the project that kills me?”

When a certain two idiots purchased their building lot, they didn’t realize that the builder was going to clear the lot of nearly every tree and bush… Or that they might later discover the hard way that the property was almost designated a wetland.

That’s when our yard first became a chain of projects.

Our early years here involved LOTS and lots of tree planting…and wearing boots and muddy, wet sneakers for 9-10 months of the year.

Every couple of years we added a section of sidewalk to our yard, eventually making a walking path that now encircles the entire perimeter. Along the way, we’ve created different “stations”:

a fire pit… (that attractive black stain is what’s left of a garden cart that I parked too close to day old ashes):

a “secret path”:

a chess garden”:

butterfly garden:

“birch cove,” which started as a leftover pile of dirt from the secret path:

and is now one of Mr’s favorite places to sit:

We also added a perennial garden:

a kitchen orchard,

and then it’s back to the pool and patio area.

Last year we built a pergola and a couple of archways around the walk.

We’ve had successes and failures along the way, learned a lot (i.e., it takes more than topsoil to make a happy garden), bickered a lot, took a lot of Excedrin, had a blast renting diggers and skid steers, enjoyed several cold beverages, solved problems, and sat back and marveled, “I can’t believe we survived that one”

Spring usually harkens the arrival of the annual supply pile:

We have several projects on the this year’s list. including some drainage work and adding stacked stone borders around the kitchen orchard (still in progress) and the chess garden:

We’ve absolutely noticed there’s been a direct correlation between our foray into senior citizenship and our ability to dig ditches and sling rocks. It ain’t particularly positive, but with the grace of God and lots of Tylenol, we’re pushing forward.

SO…our yard is part vacation spot, part hobby, part work. I absolutely don’t think we’ll ever run out of ideas or projects…but we may eventually run out of muscles and energy.

Hopefully, we won’t run out of cold beverages.

Any big plans or projects on your calendar? Please share below!

__________

I can’t wait to visit my blogging buds to find out about their vacations… please join me in checking out:

Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Sally at Within a World of My Own  
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style

Welcome to “Where Bloggers Live.” It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! 
Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes? 
The second Friday of each month is when this group of seven bloggers link up to share their workspaces, 
homes, towns… or whatever our fearless leader, the fabulous Bettye, proposes.
Make sure you visit everyone to see where the magic happens!