A Little Bit Of Heaven

After a month of cleaning and clearing, in my spare time, I have managed to get the Front courtyard cleared, raked, all the way to the grape arbor. The Grape arbor is where we grow three different kinds of grapes, but it is mostly where we hang our hammocks. This is the area where the construction crew dumped all the rocks from the digging. We have now re-located all the rocks, leveled the piles of dirt, and kept the trees alive and fruiting. I feel a major accomplishment in this.
The side patio still needs to be painted. It is raw wood and must be sealed and protected. We weed whacked some of the area earlier and still have some to do. And I have started tying up the grape vines so that we will have shade over the top of the arbor.
I was really hoping the over the weekend, we could actually put out the hammocks and have a swing together.
If I look at the back of the yard, the pile of fencing is getting smaller. We are cutting up the old fencing material and putting it in the wood pile for the fireplace fuel. There has been way more scrap wood than we have been able to burn this winter. It just never got cold enough to have a fire. Our utility bill was quite low all winter because the lights are all low wattage now and we didn't use much natural gas. But the energy going into the yard remodel is quite high.
After I get the side yard cleaned up a bit more, I will start getting some plans for the room addition. The side yard is where all the old landscape items were piled. Bricks, step stones, pipes, hoses, excess stuff, garden stuff, etc. And in between my garden beds, all the excess dirt got dumped. I have now started moving the dirt to the back fence where I have a new bed for the cotton planned. After moving the dirt, I will be able to plant the seeds and start digging out the old plants. I have an abundance of stepping stones which I have been placing in various locations. I made a small walk to the hose bibb in the front. I have used some to control a gopher area next to the patio. I have used some around the new building/shed for gopher control. And I am surrounding my garden beds with them to make walk ways and control weeds. I expect to have this done over the month of MAY. And during this time, I will cut up the wood, old hoses, old pipes and old tree stumps. Does that sound too ambitious? Maybe.
I have travel plans and would like the yard to survive while I am gone. I also have visitors coming in July and need to get my spare room cleaned out for guests. All in all, I think my plate is pretty full. But it is a happy thing. I am making progress on my goals.