I have yet to really post pictures of our new home as it is always a work in progress. I have decided that I should start to show it off as is because it will ALWAYS be a work in progress. My husband has worked very hard to basically remodel our entire house on a very tight budget (I'm talking Fred Mertz penny pinching!). Our yard has been a huge undertaking and is no where near where we envision it. But it is definitely the most fun part of our new purchase...deciding what to do with the 1/2 acre we now call home! The backyard is basically a large rectangle, totally fenced in, with a gradual slope to the top. In the middle of the yard, there is a bit of a level spot where we hope to someday put a swing set. At the very top of the property, Nathan has built his horseshoe pit complete with picnic area.
One of our goals is to become a more self-sustaining household. I believe in eating organic and have always tried to incorporate at least 50-75% organic food into our diets (more for Paul). We have made a compost pile on the side of our yard and compost daily. We are also going to start using cloth diapers for Paul and hopefully for the rest of our future children. We started a small garden this year, but lost most of it to the pesky gophers! Because of our lost battle, Nathan is now building a large raised bed in the middle of the yard to have a protected space to grow a substantial part of our vegetables. We also hope to put in an herb and lettuce garden on our deck outside our bedroom where a huge hole lays unoccupied...a former hot tub spot.
As you can see from the pictures, we already have some mature fruit growing on the property. There are two plum trees, one in front and one in back. I made some delicious plum preserves with the front yard crop! There are three apple trees in the back all full of apples. Nathan strung a hammock between the plum and apple tree and the view from underneath is so serene (you can see in one of the pictures). We have a very large walnut tree also full of nuts. We are waiting for them to start falling so we can start peeling off the husks and let them dry in the sun. We had three giant zucchini plants which produced tons of zucchini. We made a lot of bread and pickled a half dozen jars which were delicious! We also have a great pumpkin patch spiraling out of control and hopefully by Halloween we will have enough pumpkins for all the kids. Finally we have a very old and hearty grape vine that kind of took on a life of its own. We have no clue what the grapes will taste or look like, but we are excited to start training it to do something creative. I also included pictures of our redwood trio. It is probably my favorite part of the yard. Paul loves to hang out on the lounger and look up at the branches swaying in the wind. As you can see...he loves getting dirty and the outdoors. What a blessing to be able to grow up in his own little park and enjoy of all God's bounty!
Here is a link to more pictures:
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