Saturday, April 08, 2006

Lucky Shoes, Don't Fail Me Now

Ok, I don't really believe I own lucky things. I just think that there are times when everything goes well or better than expected and I feel amazed and, yes, even blessed. Today was the end to my landscaping adventure. (See earlier entry with photo of the home when I purchased it.) First up here is a photo of what my home looked without clothes on. Yes, that's right a naked yard. Took a lot of work to get it that way too. I finished prepping the areas for running irrigation and marked off areas that I'd like to highlight. The photo was taken this morning at about 6:30 A.M. with the sunrise behind the house.

Next up are the lucky shoes. No, they aren't lucky but you'd think they are because I've kept them a whole 20+ years. My father would purchase tennis shoes to sell at his shop and every once in awhile he'd say, "Find a pair that are your size." As a youngster, I was pretty amazed that Goodyear made the soles and thought that they have to be a good as car tires. Yes, they have lasted that long and I have been picked on by family members for still owning them but there they are in all their glory. I put them on because I knew I'd need something that I wouldn't care if they got trashed or not. They actually survived pretty well.

And last but not least... the final product. I took the photo at 6:30 P.M. and having the sun behind you doesn't do the area justice. Many of the little plants in front will get a lot bigger, almost bushy (green cassia) while others will spread and circle the rocks. I'm sore and tired (got 5 hours sleep before starting and 5 hours the day before (they dropped off the rocks early.) Took some ibuprofen and plan to have a few beers after a nap. I will tell you something, though. I was going nuts trying to design a layout for what should go where (we even put in a few things so I can run lighting in a few spots later.) I decided use the red rock fines (crushed rock) to highlight specific areas and encircle them with the gold 1" rock. I'm actually shocked that it looked better than I expected. Content and without yardwork, life is sweet.

7 comments:

Lily said...

Congrats on a job well done Martin. It's looks great and I hope you post another picture next year when the smaller plants have grown in.

New White Keds said...

Maretn, it looks fabulous. I am impresed with your design ability and the fortitude to do the job yourself. Wow!

LoraLoo said...

Hey, the yard looks GREAT! And you did it all yourself. The hard work certainly paid off!

Bar L. said...

dude, are those shoes really that old????? No way! The yard looks fantabulous, you should feel proud of your hard work! Good job you!

Teri said...

The yard looks great! We are just about ready to put the rock in our backyard, but I think we are going to hire someone to do it. We need 15 tons, and that is not including the side yards. I am pretty impressed at the great job you did!

Ken said...

Very impressive. And that you were able to do it yourself is way cool. No way I could have done that myself.

Lucy Stern said...

Job well done. You are a hard worker and I'm sure it will look great when things start growing out some.....I bet you have to do a lot of watering over there in Nevada...Have fun.