Last summer I spent almost no time outside. The hammock Wonder Boy and I bought more than a year ago is still in its box, as is the stand it sits on. I helped keep the yard weeded and pruned but I didn’t exactly exert myself in those efforts.I have a lot of reasons but the primary ones is my view. There are a bunch of young loser guys who live behind me and their efforts towards home and yard beautification are nil. They have a rotting shed in the backyard that has plenty of openings so cats and raccoons just hang out. At some point they did replace a broken window, but there’s still a pirate flag and collection of liquor bottles behind it, so… They spent was I assume was not very much money to have some complete morons take down a tree, tearing down my neighbors fence and several branches in my yard in the process. And the stump of the tree is still there. It’s just blight and if I don’t see it, it bothers me less so I avoid the yard.

In the spirit of making my home a place where I want to spend time, this year I am tackling some projects.

First Wonder Boy and I are having our roof / gutters inspected (tomorrow!). After we repair any leaks that are affecting our driveway, we’re getting our driveway fixed. Glamorous stuff, I know. Next up we’re refinishing the downstairs wood floors and / or installing a fence.

The fence wasn’t on our initial discussion list, but it keeps coming up and I think we’re in total agreement that it will improve our yard, as well as our home value, immensely. More importantly, after the yard is fenced in (I’m talking a high fence that blocks out the view of the loser neighbors) we can turn our tiny backyard into the oasis it strives to be. I have bug zappers (plural!) on my birthday list and know just where the h
ammock will go. We’re giving up on getting grass to grow and putting ground-cover back in. Wonder Boy received a chiminea for Christmas and it’s a great addition to our patio.

I am reclaiming my yard! And in doing so, I am reclaiming summer and lazy days spent outside reading and napping in the sun.

In the meantime, I’m just keeping track of good ideas for the yard!

I may never feel as chilled out in my backyard as I did here in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica, but I can dream.
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.