The Summer Yard

So, I was looking through my 'Blog pics' directory - the place where I store the pictures I plan to use in blog posts - and realized I had taken a lot of pictures of the yard space but had never written a post about last summer's yard renovation.  A mid-winter post about the summer yard might be just what we need :-)

It was back in 2013 that I first wrote about the plans  to move the fence that separates the gravel area and the parking area.  You can read more about those plans here.  We didn't have enough time that summer to complete that renovation so it was slated for summer 2014 instead.  This is a 'before' photo taken from above;

And this is an overhead view of the yard after the fence was moved;

It is a little difficult to see but we lost a small triangle section of the gravel area on the left side of the picture but gained the same amount of space near the lane past the neighbour's garage - where the tipi is now.  This extra space allows us to see what is going on outside the yard which was nearly impossible when the fence ended at the corner of the garage and our van parked perpendicular to the lane.

Here's the view as you come down the steps from the house to the deck;

As I walk across the grass area and look left toward the garden;

and right toward the covered seating area;

Walk through the covered seating area and enter the gravel area looking towards the right side of the hill;

Then look through the gravel area to the left of the hill towards the corner of that used to be playspace alongside the carport;

Now in the gravel area looking back toward the house and deck - here you can see the old water barrels which have been re-purposed to store the loose parts;

Turn around and look toward the 'new' playspace past the hill where the tipi is now;

This is the most popular space.  Even in winter the tipi is the favourite sit spot - as snow is cleared from the parking area it is piled behind the tipi making it a cozy little spot;

We love our outdoor play space in every season.