Well we're about a week behind in starting the construction of the deck. Typical.

We have yet to hear back from Dean Johnson with Out of the Woods (OOTW) with a definite starting date. I estimate his crew will arrive here 5 minutes before we hop on the plane to Savannah for a our little vacation. (May 1st).

I shouldn't be so snide. I'm sure that everything will go smoothly and quickly. This is the first "BIG" construction endeavor that Ed and I will experience (not taking into account the kick ass, state-of-the-art compost bin that we made a couple of years ago. (you can see this lovely structure in the slideshow)

The deck itself is only 14" high, has one deep wraparound step up, benches on two sides, a planter, and a small railing where the grill will go. All told it will probably only take 3-4 days to complete. Yahoo.

The next step is to start the landscaping of the entire backyard. This is a huge undertaking....not only in scale, but also in people power. It's basically going to be just Ed and I (but we're always up for volunteers who will work for food and beer) (work first, beer later).

We will be breaking the landscaping up into two phases: plantings, rock wall and outcroppings, and moving of the vegetable garden this year, and then next year we will finish up with the pavers, gates, and arbors. Whew!

All told this whole undertaking will run about $12,000. (Well....there goes Isabella's college fund).

April, 2003