Abel resurfaced the patio with stone, Omar hauled away two dumpsters full of broken concrete from the back yard, Marcos put in a drip system, broke up the old concrete, planted the final plants, planted and sodded the back yard, the side gate got built, trellises and climbing plants are in...
A lot has happened -- I haven't kept up with all the changes.
A Christmas Present Finds a Home
Last Christmas Luann gave me a brass address plaque. We were waiting for just the right place to put it.
We've gotten used to cars stopping out front, people checking their maps,
trying to figure out where they are or how to get where they're going. This
should help.
A New Lamp Post and a Place for the Address
Abel built a post next to the steps from the front parking area and Lynne and
Luann picked out a lamp. The address plaque looks pretty good out there.
A View Across the Patio
Abel faced the old brick patio with stone and changed the shape of the steps. This is a view across the patio, the fountain to the left, flowers ahead and the shore course in the background.
We reused the Mailibu lights and they now go across both sides of the front and
along the side of the house. Marcos' drip system has risers to mist the area
between the stones and the ground cover is already starting to fill in.
A Place to Sit
Luann found this bench in a mail order catalog, a nice place for the two of us to sit.. We've been moving it around, trying to find the best location.
First we thought under the kitchen window. It seems to have found a better home
in the corner of the parking area. It's a
nice complement to the gate and we can sit there and look out across the yard
to the trees across the street.
The Morning Light on the Walkway
Part of the magic of the Monterey Penninsula is the quality of the light. In the morning, as the fog begins to lift, the sunlight filters through the trees.
As I was out taking pictures, the light came down through
the tea tree and filled the side yard with streaks of sunlight.
Who is Barbara Karst?
To add some color, Luann's selected Barbara Karst Bougainvillia for the area next to the porch, next to the patio, next to the kitchen window and along the back lawn. The color matches the winter buds of the Australian Tea tree and is a nice accent to the grays and browns that dominate the house.
A Reward for a Job Well Done!
Now that the yards are almost done, it's time for a little reward. Luann's had her eye on this bicycle for a while so when we got back from our trip, we picked it up. If you're on 17 mile drive and hear a ringing bell followed by a red blur, you've just been passed by Luann.
(I should mention that Luann gave me a new set of
wheels of my own.)
With the job almost done, a lot of the construction clutter is out of the way and you can see the front of the house. The plants look a little puny now but I have a feeling that by spring, we'll be up to our elbows in flowers.
The gate's in, the cement mixer is gone, the area under the kitchen window is planted and it's just about done.