Tractors, Fire, and Trampolines: Landscape Philosophy

Work on the landscaping started two weeks ago. There has been a lot of dramatic progress with rock work being put in.

There is still a tractor here for moving rocks (the big one on the right).

Which do you think a 4.5 year old boy would rather play with?

This evening before dinner we had an inaugural fire in the fire pit in the paver patio that was just completed on Thursday. The kids stayed in their bare feet and roasted marshmallows as we eeked a little more deluded summertime out of this October.

The kids quickly learned how to stoke up a flash of big flames with handfuls of dry pine needles.

In the background you can find me bringing two more big logs from the haphazard wood pile. Actually, there is no real 'wood pile', just downed wood that I've been meaning to cut up with the still-in-the-box chainsaw Veep got me for Christmas.

Part of the philosophy Veep and I have had with this house, and now with the yard, was to create a place that our kids will want to be as they reach their teenage years. We'd love to have them home hanging out with friends instead of out somewhere else where we have no idea what they're up to. At this point we have the opposite problem--the kids don't ever seem to want to go anywhere. And regardless, they are very good kids. I just hope that doesn't change as their teen years loom.

Speaking of kids, this week I'm on vacation and will be staying at home playing Mr. Mom. Veep will only be gone for 4 days, so I shouldn't be able to do too much damage. I'm thinking of it as an adventure that may just end up blogworthy.