Plans for the Future

 This whole plan starts with an amazing Mother's Day gift from my son. 

Over the years, along with another flood, it's in need of more than just a new coat of paint. As I start thinking and planning, I end up with more ideas than will ever be possible. Perhaps you've seen the Elf Houses of Iceland. 

I have to dig out a lot of ground behind the bench for these, and figure out a retaining wall behind them. Most of them are built into a hill, so that should help quite a bit.

I laid in some steps last spring using unopened bags of Quikrete. They also seem to need some retaining properties, as they are already beginning to shift. Instead of digging down to make them ground level, I just leveled the ground and laid them on top. This was apparently a mistake of sorts. Yes, that's Kayce at the top. He's also a huge fan of my little hideaway. Farther north of the steps, I also plan to make a terraced Fairy Garden. I still have to do some research on whether Fairies and Elves get along in a small community, so that could hinder the process. 

Up here closer to the tree will be a Fairy House. I haven't decided if it will be up in the tree or on the ground. Again, more research. I've seen both. I'll have a bird feeder pole around here as well, so she'll have to learn to share one way or the other. Since my cats follow me out here, it's probably best to have it higher in the tree. I believe the Elves will be able to hold their own, from what I've read so far. 

This is from the top of the hill looking down. I have a whole slew of hostas I plan to plant down this hill to frame in the fairy garden and terraces.

Looking south, I have a sloping path that leads up the hill and down to "The Point" as we've always called it. It probably needs a better name, but that's what it has for now. It would be fun to make this a stony path. 

So here's the actual Point. Normally, there are two cricks running here, and this is where they merge. This has been the driest fall and winter we've had since we built in '05-06, and the first time these have been empty since then. The smaller crick coming in from the east is usually minimal, which makes it an easy spot for frogs to lay eggs. The boys had lots of fun with tadpoles over the years.

Here's the path up the Point, and the path back down to the Pink Bench. Again, steps and stony paths would be amazing!

Probably best I do some of this before the water comes back!

Here are the materials I've collected for the project. Several landscaping stones, bricks and concrete chunks. Lots more concrete chunks available if I need them. I might also talk to my landscaper friend and see if any of her clients are getting rid of old stuff when she redoes their projects. 

I also have some trails that are starting to slope downhill, and they're getting hard to mow. It might be time to figure out some retaining walls that have better retaining properties than these old 2x4's! But the dreams never end, do they?