For a while, the landscape of our house has been neglected.  First by the previous owner and then us.  Some attempts at landscaping were made, but not maintained.  So when we bought this house, the front yard looked like a mess of dead, overgrown grass and weeds.

Because it was dead, overgrown grass and weeds.

All over.

Then we took a weed whacker to it and tamed the beast.

Crazy to actually see the plants tucked behind that.

But it grows back, looking a little, nay, a lot like Donald Trump’s hair; long, thin, side swept, and unmanageable.  Because the hills are so steep and many large rocks punctuate the hillside, it would be impossible to maintain nice grass.  Factor in minimal rainfall and it’s hard to keep anything alive without an outrageously expensive water bill.  So we’re going with more rock.  Doesn’t need water or maintenance, and cuts down on the dust storms.

The past few weekends we’ve cut out the weeds, laid weed mat, and schlepped rocks.  Even yesterday when temps reached the mid 90′s.  Yes, crazy for this time of year.  Lots of water and lemonade.

Ahh, clean, blank canvas.  Maybe this fall we’ll be able to plant drought resistant plants, to green things up.

If I’m lucky, some flowers for color.

Most of the front side has been rocked, but we’ve got the other side to deal with.

Which included cutting back part of the railing-less, unsafe deck to the front door to get the Bobcat across.  Once the rock has been distributed, we’ll make a new walking path and steps up.

All that to say this: digging out weeds and hauling rocks is not fun, but we’re eager to get it finished and start on some fun projects.  Like a deck in the backyard.  Ben found a great deal on reclaimed wood, so we’ve nixed the concrete patio.  Instead we’ll have a low deck.  And we’re crazy excited about it.