Hey neighbors, we're sprucing things up.

While we were planning, spreadsheeting, applying, bidding, and all that fun stuff, we tried to make a green thumb statement for the sake of basic appearances.

Early landscaping

The selling Realtor had done a great job of keeping the place respectable during its long stint on the market, after years of vacancy. As soon as there was an agreement, though, he happily backed off, and we got a fabulous meadow out front and blackberry patch out back. Our ever-helpful neighbor stepped up and bushwhacked the berries back (Rachel does hope a few of them come back someday, but agrees they're better gone for now) and Peter sidestepped the chore of lawnmowing by taking up the fun task of weed-whacking instead. Bill and Deb donated some hostas, daylilies, and black-eyed susans, and the front yard looked positively suburban.

Now most of the area around the house is fodder for ladders and lifts, so landscaping is on hold until autumn rolls around again. Just for a little foreshadowing, though: there's a huge pile of bricks waiting for some good use!