Front, Finished

 Well, I can hardly believe it myself, but the house is finished.

 Totally finished, see?  We even have a realtor's sign in the front.
To be honest, we are still a little on the fence as to whether to sell it or keep it as a rental. 
We'll see what happens.

 Here's the entire property from the front.
 Sorry there's so much street in the picture.

 Here's that swell new tree again.

 And here's our swell new sidewalk.
Again.

 Here, let's look at the whole front.

And here it is a little closer.  Along with a good shot of the realtor's sign.  Not that I'm promoting it here, but hey, if you want to make an offer, knock your socks off.

 And here it is from this side again.
I know, I know, I'm probably being repetitive.  But hey, it's our baby and I can't believe we've completed it.

 How about this side including the sidewalk?
 And Sport, of course.

 The left side from the porch.

And the right side from the porch.
Don't worry, I'll show you the inside as well now that its finished.
Tomorrow.

And a Little More Landscaping

 Another day on the jackhammer.

 Tools of the trade... power tools, plants, irrigation tubing, pitchfork....

Here is what we have down at the other end of the driveway. 

Another of those attractive dry riverbeds.

 And here's the big dog again with the jackhammer.

Here I am, on the shovel.
Photo courtesy of  Sport.

 Me again.  So happy.

 Then after hours of work, the sun comes out, and this is what the job looks like.  Chris has delivered us a load of bark and I've completed the irrigation lines.  Including water to the new tree by the street.

 Yes, this tree right here.

 Here is Chris looking pained.  Probably at the quality of workers he is forced to endure. 
Meaning his wife and sons. 

 In this photo, you can see Sport forking bark into his handy trashcan for carrying.  Trash cans hold more than wheelbarrows.  Just so you know.

 Chris is tying the tree to the stakes.  So it doesn't blow over on the gusty days.

Sport picking up his can of bark.  He's thinking "somewhere there are children who are spending their summer playing.  Not shoveling bark".

   

Here is the progress thus far.  Now I have to leave to go to work.  Well, first I must go home and take a quick shower.  You did see those pictures of me, didn't you?

More Landscaping

Back to the house we go.  Here we have the usual suspects.

After the big dog loosens the soil with his jackhammer, Sport digs out the hole.  Mostly with the shovel, but with the bar when necessary.

Here, let me stand on the driveway and show you some stuff.

In case you were wondering, this is what a jackhammer looks like.

Here is the spot he is to dig out for the plant.

And this is what it looks like when the blade starts into the ground.

Here's another view.  Too much?  More jackhammer pictures than you were bargaining for?

Here's good ole Sport.  With his ear protection.

So then, after a bunch more work (during which I was working, so not taking any pictures), the plants are in and the rocks are set.  The dry riverbed is both decorative and functional.  What a nice combination.  Remember the drains by the driveway and front porch and lower side of the yard?  The riverbed helps divert any rainwater toward those drains.  And it looks great besides (if I do say so myself).





The big dog is raking up some of the junky dirt (and rocks) he dug out and Sport is working on the irrigation line.  I believe he is hammering in the staples that hold it in place.

Here's Chris adding some more of the 3/8" rock to the riverbed.
The riverbed is made up of big rocks with gravel on top to fill in the voids.
In case you were wondering.

Next we cover all the bare dirt with bark.  Shredded redwood to be precise.
Those are my irrigation supplies on the porch.  That's right, I'm in charge of the dripline.  Its quite a responsibility.

This is what a trailer load of shredded bark looks like.
And two boys with pitchforks unloading it.

After the bark is unloaded, the big dog gets to throw all his junky dirt and rocks into the trailer to be hauled away.

Doesn't that look nice?
We have to end at this point because, 1) I ran out of irrigation drip line and 2) we've been working here all day and we're tired and hungry.  Seriously, if it weren't for buying the tamales from the lady who came by selling them earlier in the day, we would be starved.

So this is what the front yard looks like from the front porch now.  

 

And here is the other side.  This one is a work in progress.
Oh, also, that pile on the other side of the driveway is the super rich soil we are using  when we place the plants.

Its getting there.

And we're almost done!

Yes, Landscaping!

The first step in this process is to procure some plants.
Chris and I journeyed to a local nursery to do so.

So many plants.  Acres and acres of plants.  This is only a tiny corner of the place.  It was somewhat overwhelming, I've got to tell you.  I'm still a little traumatized.

Then back to the house where we have the A team digging holes for the plants Chris and I just purchased.  Yes, you are correct.  The big dog is using a jackhammer.  Why mess around with a shovel when you have power tools?

Then, with the magic of  the blog, here we are....plants in the ground, dirt all raked smooth.
I was on the end of a shovel, so no pictures of the "during" phase.  Yes, unfortunately the jackhammer can't do it all.

Lest you think "That is all they got done?" please take note that all this was done after I got off work at noon.  Even with the jackhammer, the digging of the holes and filling them with good (purchased) topsoil then planting the plants took a bunch of time.

Aren't the new roses lovely?

Landscaping?

So the next big job will be landscaping.
Here's the front yard to the right of the front porch.

And here it is to the left.

This is what it looks like from the sidewalk.

And here is this side from the sidewalk.

There is of course also this area to the side of the driveway.

Oh, I almost forgot, but the last part of fence is in. 
There will be a gate across the walkway, just not yet.