My House Smells Like Cedar

The fence is mostly up! Hooray!

And the whole yard has this amazing aroma of cedar. After talking with Tom (our super handyman) this morning, I learned that he used western red cedar for the pickets. The horizontal cap (also western red cedar) should be going up today or tomorrow. This is untreated cedar, so as much as I'm feeling impatient, we won't be able to stain it until the fall.

I am honestly thrilled with our progress, though I cannot help but see all the things that still need to be done to make the backyard more enjoyable. So in true Butterfield fashion, here is my working list of changes I'd still like to make to the backyard:

• Extend the patio (currently sized at 10' x 10')
• Purchase a patio set
• Create two levels to the backyard, to eliminate the slope and help water drain away from the house
• Plant a low-water, native Texas garden (with a small area dedicated to turf -- mostly for the dogs' benefit)
• Move the shed, so it's not the first thing you see when looking out into the backyard
• Repaint the shed

And back to the subject of the fence for a minute. When we asked Tom to work on it, I really thought I'd have some time to help him work on it. I love learning carpentry and construction, and thought it would be great to learn from someone way more experienced than me. However, between work, school, and life, I've only spent a few hours outside during this project (during the destructo phase, when we were ripping out all the "trash trees").

Needless to say, I'm a little sad I didn't get to see him put up the fence (though I do get a ton of enjoyment when I get home each night and see the progress that's been made). Here's hoping I have a little more free time for future projects!

The Backyard

Our backyard has been in a sad state since the day we moved in. In our first year in this home, JP put in tons of work: cutting down Texas-sized weeds, clearing out years of piled-on dead leaves, and hacking down half-dead bushes that were clinging to the last remnants of life.

There was much chaos and destruction a la Casa Morganfield. We did eventually get the backyard to a state where we could feel (semi)comfortable with Little E playing there. With shoes on. The back yard has never been a place where I've wanted to spend even the smallest amount of time, but at least it was no longer a trash heap.

Enter Tom, an amazing handyman, who has helped us on a bunch of small projects around the house. He's replaced our sink, caulked windows, and given us loads of great advice over the last year. So when it came time to focus on the back yard, he was the first person I called.

Let's start with a picture of our dream fence:

I really love the horizontal cap along the top -- it leaves a really clean line with just a touch of modernism.

I also really like the stain they used. I'll be at Lowe's over the next few days picking out stains, so if any of you have ideas, please let me know.

And here is where our yard was a year ago when a "trash tree" fell down (thankfully, no one and nothing was hurt):

And here is our yard today:

Ok, so we've got quite a ways to go, I'll grant you that. But, all in all, we're making progress. I'll definitely keep you posted as the fence progresses.

We've also decided that we're going to follow a water-conserving landscape template from the City of Austin's website. It's not only good for the environment, but it means that I'm less likely to kill it. Win win! However, we're not supposed to plant until the fall, so that plan is temporarily on hold.