I like dirt

I like dirt
I like dirt
I like dirt
I like dirt

The earth is made of dirt and wood
And I’d be water if I could
I live in a dream
In your stream
I live in a dream

(rhcp)

We began tearing up our backyard at the beginning of the month. This is a project that has been on The List since we bought the house 18 months ago - it feels great to have it crossed off!

In our old house (circa 1928), we simply cannot expect to have a dry basement. We would however, really love a not-soaking-wet basement and the completion of this project will hopefully give us that :o) So far though, it has also only given us a dirty - no, make that a very, very, very dirty house. If you fell the desire to identify every surface, corner and orrafice of your home, I recommend filling your back yard with dirt and waiting a few weeks while two adults, one child, two cats and a dog go in and out, tracking that shit *everywhere*.

Anyway, here's what we did:

Part one, re-grade the yard
Ugh. We knew it had to be done, but really, when are you ever *really* ready to completely rip out what little grassy yard and fence you have and invite a machine to come in and dig it up and turn it into no more than a dirt desert? Our motivation came from two places.

One: Our neighbor and friend, Arland, had a couple free days, a bob cat, a load of topsoil and a willingness to work for beer.

Two: we had spring fever.

The end result was not only a re-graded yard, but also a re-graded alley, four new fenceposts set in concrete, a load of topsoil spread and a retaining wall and a compost area built from reclaimed wood. And 25% of the keg gone ;o)

The retaining wall pieces were salvaged from Mike's old pre-addition walkway, and the materials used to build the compost area is made from our old fence.

Mission compete! Next is building the fence, installing a diversion drain and laying sod.


Oh, and in case you haven't heard, Azrielle (aka, Tubby) loves dirt. If it were up to him, we'd stop right here. Whenever we're digging, he comes waddling up to the freshly tilled earth and with no grace what-so-ever, plops down and starts rolling. Pictures speak a thousand words, my friends. (Want to see more stuff on our cat? Go here!