Done And Final

Susan was here today working on some minor details to the landscaping. We have to wait on the clay for the bocce ball court but it is ordered and on the way. We are declaring our home building and landscaping project done. This is the last post on the blog for our project. Thanks to all that worked on our new home. We met a lot of nice people and some were true craftsmen. Thanks to everyone who followed along on the blog. It was fun to put together and I enjoyed the comments posted or otherwise. Now even though we moved in last June, we still have to complete the task of unpacking boxes and getting everything where it belongs. That is proving to be one of the more difficult things to accomplish. Thanks again.............

Bird

It's not a bird bath anymore. This weekend I reassembled our fountain in the front of the house. I keep tweaking the water flow so it doesn't just splatter all the water out on the ground. It looks better now that it's all in one piece.

Still Finishing

Plants were planted today around the fountain. Soon we will finish putting the fountain together so it isn't just a big bird bath.

They have even made out transformer look good.

Susan is still finishing up the arbors and benches. We caught her sanding down the caulking in the nail holes. They had a reprieve from the rain today but it's supposed to start back up tomorrow.

Benched

Landscapers got rained on today but they stayed with it. Doug is connecting lights up. He says they will all be ready to go tomorrow.

I caught Susan building a bench under one of the arbors. She has two of these to do so I expect they will also be done tomorrow. Pavers are still being filled in but it also looks like that should be finished up tomorrow as well.

Friday's Here

Friday's here! Woohoo! Holes are disappearing in the pavers. There are still quite a few to fill in but this part of the walkway is done.

Arbors are done. Now they just need benches under them to sit on. There is now oyster shell in the bocce ball court and some of the caps are on top of the sides.

A couple of pictures to show how all of this is coming together. Top is the south end of the house going up to the front yard and bottom is the back yard. Lookin' good.

Some Finishing Touches

Now that they are close to being done, they are completing some of the finishing touches. Bark dust now goes up to the new approach to the storage shed.

They are also getting the last pieces cut and put in place for the pavers.

The rock retainer is done below the bocce ball court.

The raised beds are done with completed steps and walk ways. We're getting very close.

New Things

New things showed up on Tuesday. Low voltage lights were set out where they will be installed and hooked up.

This area in the front is being set up for our fountain. We found this on sale at Al's in Sherwood. Should add a nice touch to the entry.

Not The Only

Paths with pavers aren't the only ones being worked on. The curvy path and the paths through the garden areas are also being finished up. They are being topped with 1/4 minus rock.

Arbors are being built next to the bocce ball court. They should make nice areas to sit whether a game is being played or not.

This view of the back yard shows how close to completion we are getting.

Yes the wind was blowing today. This is what I'm calling a fair weather flag. Diana says flags are like camp fires. You just can't help but watch them when they are blowing in the breeze.

Front

The bocce ball court is all enclosed and the cap is going on top.

Rock retainers are nearly all in place below the court. Nice look.

Susan's crew put in this nice approach to the lawn from the storage shed.

The pavers have made it around the garage to the front. Now the spaces are being filled in. Everything is coming together nicely.

Couple

I haven't posted for a couple of days but Susan and her crew have been busy. The walkway from the virtual deck around the garage has pavers. She also re-did some of the pavers at the bocce ball court to deal with a hump that didn't belong there.

Bocce ball court is getting close. The last end is being installed. This is where dirt and rock was hauled through.

Sod is complete except for some fill in pieces around some of the edges. The rock walls around the raised beds are also completed. They are close to getting the landscaping completed.

Old Glory

In a previous post there was a hole in the corner of the yard that is the base for our new flag pole. This is my part of the landscaping project. Elmer's Flag and Banner shipped it to us and although I have it all assembled here it's still horizontal.

Tony and Bob came over this evening and helped get it to the vertical position.

Once upright the rest of the install is to use wedges to hold it plumb, then put sand in the base around the pole and finally top it with waterproof cement. This particular product set up in five minutes and we didn't get all of it out of the bucket before it set.

We had to adjust the hooks to fit the flag and then raised it up.

With Old Glory raised, Tyran informed us he knew the Pledge of Allegiance so we all all said it with him. One more thing completed on our project.

Friday Sod

Right on Susan's schedule sod arrived and was placed today. It makes the back look much nicer. Doug discovered a problem with the irrigation in one of the zones so he had to revert to hand watering. Getting closer for sure.

Soon

Below the bocce ball court we are getting a bit of a 'bonus' rock wall. The bank was too steep for Susan's liking so the rocks were put in place.

The back yard area is prepped for sod. Soon (tomorrow) there will be grass in place. Woohoo.

Can't wait for the back to look like the front. Doug got his lawn mower out today and mowed the grass that was put down a couple of weeks ago. First mowing since May of 2009. It smells good.

Gone

I was gone for a couple of days but Susan and her crew were hard at it. The walkway was finished up in back. There is much more to do with the pavers but so far it looks really good.

The bocce ball court has been filled with rock and drain lines are going in. Grass areas are getting levelled up and sod will be put down Friday. A lot got done while I was away. As for me, I was steelhead fishing on the Deschutes River with two cousins. We had a great time and we all caught fish. And you know what they say about the worst day fishing.

Pallino?

Pavers are being placed in the walkways. This one is off the lower back porch. They look nice. At least we think so.

The bocce ball court is taking shape. It's still not quite ready to roll the pallino but it's coming along nicely.

Warm

Work is continuing on the bocce ball court. All posts are set and boards are going on the sides. Gravel was put in the bottom for drainage.

This is the southwest corner. It's the corner they are working their way toward. Once they get this area done they will be finished with the project. They still have a ways to go. It was warm again today. We should enjoy these days because winter is coming.