Backyard improvements

This morning I took advantage of the day off work mid-week and, before it got too hot, transported a pile of medium-sized chunks of junk concrete and broken bricks and lined them up alongside the house. I didn't know what else to do with them as they are not supposed to be disposed of in the regular trash. And it's not as though this side of the house is very pretty to begin with....

Because there is only a one-foot pathway between my garden plot and the retaining wall, and because I don't have a wheelbarrow anyway, I made numerous trips from the back to the side of the house carrying concrete in a strong cloth bag.


Next, I put all the little concrete pieces in two garbage sacks one inside the other and stored the sack in my garage.

Now I had space to assemble and display a new fire pit. This is not something I probably would have purchased, but a few months ago, I got an offer of a gift from my company for working there ten years. Now, I have worked on and off for ten years, and although I don't have seniority when it comes to extra vacation time, I guess the ten years count for something.

There were a number of items from which I could choose—watches, jewelry, electronics, silverware sets, and an outdoor fire pit. Having recently enjoyed an outdoor fire in the evenings at PTF and inspired by my boarding school "big sister's" outdoor fire at her chai parties, I selected the Coleman 30-inch round copper fire pit.


It was easy to assemble, and the clothes drying on the lines shaded me as the morning sun grew hotter.

Now I need to start collecting wood. Because I don't have a drivable car or a bicycle trailer, I've had to ride by wood pallets free for the taking alongside the road.

A couple weeks ago, I finally planted my bougainvillea vine. It had lost most of its leaves/flowers, but already is looking better for being directly in the ground. As I was digging, I came upon another huge rock (see foreground of fire pit picture), which I dug out. I used a few other large rocks to make a simple border around the bed.