Gotta make hay while the sun shines...

...which translates into: "It's a semi-nice day today, let's get out and do some yard work because it might rain tomorrow!!"

And we did just that!

Since we moved into our house last June (I can't believe it's almost been a year!), we've focused all of our energies on tearing down wallpaper, painting, ripping up rugs, etc. Unfortunately, that meant our quarter acre of land was put on the back burner until we were ready to tackle it.

Today was the day!

Because of the crazy weather we had this winter (click back here and here) our yard was covered in broken tree limbs and other debris

Here's the pile of yard waste my Mom and I created after about an hour of walking around:

And I forgot to take before pictures (in true Sara fashion!!) but here's more of my "hay-making" from today:

This lovely section used to be poison ivy....that is, until my husband killed it last summer with about 4 rounds of pesticide! Today we found the root of the ivy, pulled it up (yes we wore gloves and boots!) and got rid of a bunch of leaves, pine needles, other yard debris. (Oh, and the green plants in the upper left corner aren't poison ivy in case you were worried!) Because this section doesn't get a lot of sun, I'm hoping to find a cute little bench and maybe some flagstones/stepping stones. Or perhaps plant a few flowers that grow well in the shade. Haven't really decided yet..but it is NOT staying a giant dirt pit!

You can see the poison ivy in this picture (the green stuff to the left of the garage) - pretty, right? YUCK!!

Cleared out the leaves under the rhododendron bush

Part of my pile I cleared out (Had to take a picture as proof!)

Cleared away some of the leaves so that the daffodils/jonquils don't get smothered! Need to go back with a smaller rake and get the rest. We're planning on mulching around here and the rhododendron bush too.

We trimmed back this bush because you really couldn't see the front door very well (especially on the left-hand side) I'm thinking of trimming a little more of the right as well so it doesn't hang over too much.

Oh, and here are some pictures of where we plan to finish fencing out the rest of the yard:

You can sort of see the neighbor's fence in this picture (right-hand side). Our fence would start there and then attach to our house a little behind the A/C unit (on the left). And after consultation from my Dad, he suggested we install a gate on this side as well (not just the opposite side of the yard near the driveway like I had planned. Dad's are so smart!!)

Another angle of the neighbor's fence.

Opposite side of the yard. We'll have to make an "L" shape so we won't end up with a diagonal line from the neighbor's fence to our house. We'll put a double gate right where the driveway/pavement starts and that will connect to the side of the house.

Not sure if any of that made sense!!

Overall, a good start to our "Yard Makeover" project...which reminds me, I need to make a separate post of that and list all of the things we're planning to do with the yard this summer!

Um, and yes, that would be a candle in one of the front windows..from Christmas...scroll back up if you missed it the first time... (hangs head in shame..)