Your deck is beautiful1 Noticed your frog right away, he's so cute! Love the light up tower! Could you show your shower door again if you still have it someone has some they want to do something with, I tried finding it & didn't so repeat would be nice if you could! So many nice things & love the framed saying too! Enjoy!! Jan

We are getting off the topic, but I remember the lush yard of my childhood w/ all the clover and watching the honeybees, and the exciting days when we would take the honey out of the hives... I planted clover and I wish all the weedy grass would go away! (No neighbors are going to care here as our lots are set in the middle of woods, and we are out in the country.) My clover has had a tough time (doesn't like sand?), but there is one low-growing weed that I am encouraging as it does not need to be mowed. No mowing is my goal. As for my clems (many of which you all enabled!), they are doing fairly well. I was most impressed w/ Arabella- the best bloomer! I have mostly watered from my rain barrels this summer and it is not very satisfactory because the sand soaks up the moisture so fast (great for watering pots and small areas though). I too have to figure out where to plant the ones I stuck in pots in the spring. Most are going into the rose garden (if the roses don't make it maybe the clems will). I have planted several to climb up my deck railings. I know there is a lot of controversy about adding soil amendments, but I am with the other readers who see the fence as a prime planting ground. Maybe someone who knows more about amendments could help out? I wish you the best of luck in finding them a good place, and would appreciate it if you will wish me luck as well. Thanks, Brandy

Oh, I missed a sentence up there LOL, that is the bush/tree with the deck that we cut down. The SO was cutting it while I was taking pics. I had to get them taken before he cut down all the tree/shrubs in pic #2 because I wanted before and after pics. In pic #10 if you look in the background at the bottom of the hill you can see one of the neighbors houses, this is the one I want to block the view from. I am planning on planting some fast growing trees in a line. In pic #9 on the right side of the pic is my holding flowerbed we put in too, I am using it as a nursey bed for young plants. I didn't take a pic of my WS containers LOL. Dan, tell the kids I said thanks for thinking about me, but I think we will leave the scratching and rubbing to lavish on them! LOL. Bunny, I am a country girl through and through, I can't stand the thought of living in the city although we did consider it but only for a minute. I like being in the country and NOT seeing my neighbors everytime I go outside. At the other house the trailer park folk would pull up chairs to watch us that I think that is 1. RUDE and 2. CREEPY, WHO does that? Joan, I am so totally pleased to be here. It is a small country house and it could use some work but I am tickled to finally have a place that I am surrounded by nature and not homes. We even have a nice size front porch to sit out on when we get it cleaned off LOL. It is so peaceful here, with the exception of the little &^*&^* that run up and down the main dirtroad on the trail bikes and 4 wheelers but if I had one I would be too! hehe. I am just so pleased to be here. A lot of folks wanted to see the place and this thread was the easiest way for me to share. In the front yard where that little ridge is, we are putting a flowerbed in there too, to make it more level. Can't understand WHY someone would make a cut out section in the front yard but someone did! Crazy is all I can say. Ok, well, thanks for the comments. Have a great night. :) Fran

I made a wood fire pit using concrete blocks from Lowes. The type of block that looks like stone. Being concrete it's not good to expose it direct heat for long periods of time. To fabricate a liner I used 2 steel window well inserts and screwed them together. I then used BBQ/heat resistant spray paint to paint the liner. I made sure to leave the liner about an inch from the ground as to provide air to the bottom of the fire. Inside the pit I use a standard fireplace grate to keep the wood off of the ground. I also put gravel and sand inside. I got lucky with the dimensions as I was able to buy a stainless steel cooking grate to cook with and a Smith & Hawken spark guard. It looks very nice and works great. It was also very easy to make.