Weekend Gardening

We completed many finishing touches to the landscaping this weekend.
Scott and neighbour Dan finally started, and completed the fence! I say finally, because they had been "going to do it" for several years now. Other than the several holes dug last weekend by Dan, they completed the greater part of the fence this weekend. In order to determine how far apart to place the pickets, Dan had to measure his dog's head!

Yesterday they poured the cement and set the posts. Scott was mixing the cement and
Dan coached Scott to mix it up "like flour in a cake." A lot of good that did Scott, who isn't aware that one uses flour in a cake, let alone be able to relate to the concept of mixing! (Scott, bless his heart, has very limited cooking skills; his repetoire runs to frozen pizza, hotdogs in the microwave AND Ramen noodles in the coffeemaker).

This morning when I went outside, Dan had all 200 pickets leaning against the stringers, all along the side. I came along just in time to see Hailey, the little dog, run into one picket. The domino theory was alive and well in Lafayette: she jumped back and one by one the pickets toppled from the center point out to each side. Should have had a video camera! Just like someone running their thumb along a piano keyboard.......

Dan meticulously planned out the fence between our houses and it is so straight and even that my brother-in-law would be proud of it (Randy's landscaping is always perfect!). Below is the view from Dan's backyard over to our house:
And the next picture is looking out our backyard west. The neighbour behind put up a taller fence last week to keep her Golden Retrievers from jumping out, and give some privacy. So we figure that it is good enough for us! We will eventually need something on the south side of the yard, but perhaps a hedge of pyramid cedars instead of a fence.
.

Also this weekend, Scott put the sand around the patio flagstone, almost completing this aspect of the yard. We do still have to figure out what to do right against the front windows.
And, he straightened out the water feature in the berm (if you look hard you can see it to the right of the middle pine tree). The kitties love the water feature and actually, the whole berm. They hide behind the berm, play in it and when they need the best vantage point on the lot, they sit on top surveying the neighbourhood. And the little 'creek'--their very own drinking fountain.

Just one more: we are leaving for our road trip to B.C. on Saturday and although Mavis broke in her Pet Voyage cage on the trip to Kentucky, she is feeling the need to practise up for this trip: .