We moved into the house April 2006. The backyard was all weeds and dirt when we bought the house. This first picture is how it looked when we started the hole for the pool. Curtis would scoop it up and carry it to the back right corner of the yard to build up the hill for the waterfall that would eventually be there.
Curtis worked out of town every week, so he worked very hard Fridays and Saturdays on the yard.
Curtis, Brian, Rochelle, Adam and I all took turns driving the tractor. This was the longest part of the project. Look at the tiny scoop on this tractor. We could have hired someone to have it done in one day, but it took a month for Curtis to get it just right.
We started digging the hole for the pool at the end of May 2007.
We couldn't wait for the big pool to be built so we put up this one! See the beginning of the pool hole behind it.
The walls started going up July 4, 2007.
Finally the stairs were in and we had to mix and pour cement footings.
Charles came to help several times. I thought we would all die of heat stroke.
It was close to 100 degrees all summer long.
July 20th Fred and Curtis started doing the floor of the pool with a mixture of cement and sand.
Finally, a picture of me to prove I was working alongside Curtis. Pretty.
August 2, 2007 we put the liner in and Curtis put in the drains.
Then we had to suck all the air out from behind it with a vacuum that we ran all night long as we filled the pool with water.
We were very anxious after waiting all summer to get in even though the water was only about 72 degrees. Even without a heater, we just had to get in.
The deck was poured and we were just a tiny bit short of cement. Another truck came with enough left over from a different job to finish our pool deck.
September 1, 2007. Time to put up the shed and get some power for a heater and pump.
September 23, 2007. We enjoyed the pool for two months, but then it had to be closed for the winter.
May 16, 2008.
As soon as the weather was warm enough we ordered several palates of brick for the patio and retaining wall. The tractor helped move all the patio bricks.
 |
| Rochelle |
The firepit was the first to go in and then we moved out from that circle with the patio and wall.
May 26, 2008. Time to use the firepit.
 |
| Brian and Kelsi |
and go for a night swim.
 |
| Adam |
June 14, 2008. The grape arbor is up and the garden boxes and grapes have been planted.
Brian built and installed the wrought iron fence. The arbor over the table was not built this year.
July 18, 2008. The retaining wall is done and the trees and flowers are going in.
Time to start the pond. No rest for the weary!
The pond liner is laid out and lots of BIG rocks are brought in.
The bog had a liner similar to the pond to help retain water in this dry climate of ours.
August 24, 2008. While Curtis was away during the week, I moved lots of rocks to finish under the deck.
The rock in the middle fell there, but was a good thing we decided.
September 2, 2008. It was filled with water and the pump worked. Next, we had to use foam to seal all the holes between the rocks. The memosa tree was planted on the right.
A few more trees were planted around the yard.
Raking took a few days, removing all the rocks and smoothing out the topsoil.
Finally, we have grass!
Horse shoe pits are in.
November 23, 2008. We decided to put up a bubble so we could swim during the winter.
It was fun to swim in a nice warm pool all winter long. Sometimes the snow would pile on top, though, and make it collapse. . . usually when Curtis was out of town!
May 25, 2009. What should we build this year. The chicken coop, of course.
Curtis found plans on the internet and we went to work building it one wall at a time.
The nest boxes door for collecting the eggs.
The ramp for the chickens to get into the house. They were so tiny that they could barely get up the ramp.
Putting on the roof.
Tiny chicks. .
but they grow so fast. First eggs in September 2009.
It's May again. . . 2010. The plants are coming back and filling in. Time to build an arbor over the bog, a bridge over the stream and the path around the peach tree and between the pond and the garden boxes.
July 2010. Brian did most of this patio himself and then also finished the arbor in the pool area.
So close to being done!
The fish are getting bigger. They go into hibernation through the winter and come back to life each spring. The pond is deep enough for them to stay under the ice all winter.
June 2011. The bog is filling in nicely.
The flower bed under the flowering pear tree is done. We're so close!
I made the cover for the pool arbor the fall of 2010, but we get to use it this summer.
We had a couple weddings the summer of 2011. We can't take credit for building the roof over the deck, built just before the two weddings. We sure enjoy it though.
Brian built one last thing for the yard. An arch for the bridge. The girls stood under it with their new husbands in the receiving line. Then it was moved to the bridge and cemented in place.
No comments:
Post a Comment