So, I retired the beginning of January and have spent the last two months re-landscaping 6000 square feet of sod in my front and back yards, (8 tons of sod) -pictures to come- I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The grass is gone, we have ground cover out of great wood chips and pine hay, my buddy provided and some rubber fake chips for dramatic effect. We're almost ready to submit the results to the DWP program. I had thought afterward to pour concrete over half of my back yard to create one of these rich man's patios, but am beginning to change my mind. (Maybe I'm tired) I want to create drama out of the space- I am a painter after all. I told my wife that we had to create the structure of the painting first, the over all planes of color, then began to orchestrate it with plants etc. What if we only did cement in the dramatic structural areas I dreamed of- I have a notion of a great catty-cornered place with a flying shade structure over a four post frame with the cement only there and leave the rest as organic ground cover. Ah, creation, design, what else is there in life? (I've lost ten pounds, and I'm in best shape I've been in, in a while. What a great way to transition to retirement- get rid of all your guilt in three months.)
