The great outdoors~

Finally, it’s time to come to the great outdoors. Where to start?

 I have started, finished, restarted again & redesigned multiple times. Every time I have learned something new. Start a garden, animals will get in. Start another garden, water restrictions & a new lab will ruin it. This time 3^rd time was a charm & now we had to keep chickens, wild birds & squirrels out.

When they were cute, tiny & harmless

High possibility you may have to save a baby squirrel & nurse it back to health. It's family members, still not welcomed.

 We finally had the deck built; we researched, priced & finally decided that we should not take on this task. Our marriage was thankful for that. We had them build the base & went back & added the railings ourselves in order to save some money. 

We made a coop- Backyardchickens.com saved our rear ends & we were able to get ideas & with a little time & patience we were able to make a coop with recycled materials. Our wallets loved us  & so did our chickens.

 

We didn’t feel the investment of owning a chainsaw was worth it, so we borrowed one from a dear friend & cut down the trees we needed & made enough firewood for the indoor & outdoor firepit/place.

A pergola was made with real wood. Again, we priced, researched & eventually found a kit at a store. Took 2 days to complete it & a long time to level it, but it is finally done & way under budget.

 

I learned that pallets are hard work to reuse & repurpose. The ones found on pinterest & other DIY sites were a little over the top, we couldn't find pretty pallets with straight boards. We found that you had to invest in a few more tools + update your tetanus shot to make it all work.

 

I wish I had a bottomless wallet, but I don’t. Our yard is huge & it is a rare find in the city. I use a lot of cull lumber, repurposed a lot of items & at one point our yard literally looked like a mud pit in the middle of a Samford & Son episode. Our grass doesn’t grow due to the 20 elm trees & dogs. They love to dig, run & mark everything. We had to break them of habits by bordering areas with rocks, dirt & cacti’s. Items were purchased because of the price, function & what it can become. Placement & colors came later. You can transform your area to an amazing outdoor space with little money, patience & creativity. Hopefully I can give you the tools to be inspired & learn from our mistakes. Then afterwards you can treat yourselves to a nice glass of wine in your new backyard, maybe after a pedicure, manicure & a massage.

 

I will attach links as we move along.

~Mel    

  Guaranteed to make your head swarm with ideas , subject to change without notice.