Summery! Sort of…

June 22nd, 2012 by: cheyenne



The monkey grows; observe the evidence.



Last year we spent most of our home-owner energies making the inside of the house pleasant; this year, we’ve been focusing on the outside. I dreamed up the elaborate and non-standard fence situation you see in the back in exchange for a rusty, ivy-encrusted old chain link nastiness, which we ripped out and drove to the scrapyard for real cash money. It’s a mad world. Joshua nay-sayed my fence every step of the way but I prevailed and I think it turned out pretty nice looking. He even helped build it. Best part is I got a table saw out of the deal.

If fence building wasn’t making my spring awesome enough, I personally excavated a giant hole and leveled a large area for some garden beds. I decided we could turn the hole into a dry well, but it turns out that it held water too well and we had to fill it back in. But not before we terrified all the neighbors’ kids with tales of falling into the hole; Hans’ dog Otto actually fell into the hole and Ronin got hit in the head with a rock while standing in the hole. I’m not sure what it is about a yawning abyss in one’s backyard that creates such a focal point.

To make up for all the back-breaking labor I was missing out on by not finishing the dry well, I removed sod from an area the size of a small house and then excavated the rotting cinder-block foundation of an ancient garage. It was super fun. We even got some Craigslist crazies to come take the foundation blocks away! One guy even came back for seconds.

At long last, garden beds were erected, retaining walls retained, and a quaint brick walkway assembled around everything to keep the mud at bay. The walkway is comprised of bricks I got for free from some dude dismantling his chimney; they were all crusted with 90-year old mortar that I had to chip off with a really big screwdriver. Because nothing ever can possibly be simple. Or easy.

Finally we got a load of nice clean nice composty dirt (six yards!) and wheelbarrowed it all over the place. We now have a garden with tomatoes (five different ones!), cucumbers, zucchini, yellow and green patty-pan squashes, asparagus, rhubarb, peas, lettuce greens, arugula, and fennel! Yay!



6 Comments on “Summery! Sort of…”

  1. Cindy says:

    Hey, I like the fence! And, I can not believe how Ronin has grown. She’s beautiful. I am always amazed, Cheyenne, how you can take things that require so much hard work and make something creative, functional and special. You have a true talent. Hope to see you guys sometime in the near future. Love, Cin

  2. Peg Bowden says:

    At long last, a time-machine posting! Yes!! Ronin has the most beautiful skin and rosy cheeks. She looks like a kid that is full of fizz and has lots of fun.
    I love the different widths of the fencing around your raised beds. And I look forward to some home-grown tomatoes come August. Hope you’re composting!
    See you soon—love, Mom

  3. Grandma Cheryl says:

    Ronin, I want to know more about your summer bonnet. I also like your new summer outfit. Can you tell something about them? Cheyenne, I admire your perseverence when you have a vision. Everything you touch turns out awesome! I can only imagine what wonderful plans you have for the back porch area. Love you three, CherMom

  4. jeff says:

    good picts

  5. Peg Bowden says:

    Hey—so I just figured out that this is the very same dancing girl outfit that Ronin wore when she was 9 months old. amazing. Still fetching. She’s still a fox. —Gramma Peg

  6. Antonia says:

    Is it true that asparagus takes like 5 years to produce? Barbara Kingsolver made it sound like the true mark of a home… one you plan to live in long enough for the wait to be worthwhile. Can’t wait to see pictures of the crop!

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Cheyenne Weil, Joshua Coxwell