Tuesday 25 September 2012

outside, outside

This is one place that Older Grandson loves to be.

For a few weeks, our backyard was a construction site so going outside wasn't very practical. It certainly wasn't a safe place for a very active two-and-a-half year old and his now-walking fifteen-month-old younger brother.

Although we are nowhere near finished with the landscaping, the construction is over and I give you …. (drum roll) … the long-awaited deck!
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
To give you some idea of scale, the deck is 5 metres long and 3.5 metres wide (16.5 feet x 11.5 feet). The photo was taken before the step was added to the left end. The stepping stone path has been realigned to go past the deck and join up with that paved area on the left (where the clothesline is).

The deck has been painted and new dining furniture has been purchased and installed.

So this is what it looked like last Saturday.
2012 path realigned deck stained
This is real life at our place. The washing is on the line (you can only see WM’s work shirts), part of the furniture is uncovered because we had morning tea on the deck, the cordless drill is on the deck because WM is installing the new umbrella, the tub on its side in front of the covered barbecue is there because that’s how Older Grandson left it and his mummy forgot to take it home!

And for those who might be curious, the two shrubs in the neighbours yard are Australian natives – the one on the left is a banksia and the one on the right is a form of grevillea. The nectar in the grevillea flowers is very attractive to many species of birds, but my favourite are the rainbow lorikeets – a small parrot, native to eastern Australia. They have just returned from their winter migration and it’s good to see them again even if they are very noisy!

The little bridge over the dry creek bed replaced our Japanese-style bridge.
2012 new bridge unstained
It has been stained a similar colour to the deck (same stain, different timber) since this photo was taken.

Finally, this is the view from the clothesline through the flowering cherry to the miniature rose garden and swimming pool. The “lattice” you can see in the middle of the photo is the back of a bench seat in the rose garden and the two white arches above it are the “handles” for the swimming pool ladder.
2012 floweing cherry in blossom
Quite a lot on a small suburban block!

13 comments:

  1. very informative and the photos are great. Makes me want to sit and enjoy.
    himself

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  2. Super! It looks fantastic out there! What a great place to have dinner on a summer's night.

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  3. So glad the construction is over. Looks like a lovely spot to sit and stitch.

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  4. We have a cherry as well, it is sooo white!!! It sometimes looks like it is covered in tissues. I love that you get to have a bridge.

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  5. Super deck ....looks wonderful. Great job by WM. Real life is exactly that, with all the signs of family showing.

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  6. This is definitely not the average backyard here in FL---it is so beautiful; I love the deck area-great work! It does remind me of the yards in Arizona here in the States, I would love to come and take a personal tour! Glad the weather will be warming up for you to get full use of your yard again! Enjoy!

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  7. I love Spring...so fun to see it bursting forth in your yard. It looks like a lovely spot to sit and visit.

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  8. Great deck!! Perfect spot for relaxing and viewing the lorikeets. I'm jealous:) You will have to snap some photos of the birds sometime.

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  9. I don't think it's that small a block. What a beautiful cherry blossom tree and the deck would make a great place for relaxing, hand quilting, or knitting....

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  10. Looks great! I love having an outdoor seating area.

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  11. Wowee! that is totally awesome. It looks like such a nice place to sit and enjoy nature.

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  12. Beautiful deck and garden. Thanks for sharing your "real life" and all.

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  13. What a lovely yard! If I was older grandson I'd love to spend time there too. And it is spring where you are... I can feel the warm days coming in your photos.

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