Once upon a time, in the carefree glory years of my children's youth, we had an above ground pool with a fenced deck. Man-oh-man the good times we had in that pool. It wasn't huge or fancy, but it was big enough to make summer a grand time. Years past, kids fledged from the nest and the pool become a lot of work without much benefit so down it came. Oh sad day. The deck was dismantled, wood stored away for a different project. What that project was changed several times. The wood storage also changed a few times. A pond was created where the pool once lived and all was well with the world.
Also, during those carefree days, there was a garden. My next door neighbor called it "Holly's Fort Garden". I cut down trees....LOTS...of trees from the creek bed out back and made a fence around the garden. It was lovely. AH and I had our second wedding (story for another time) under the arch of its entry. Then the trees behind it grew large and shaded all the plants intended for sun. Years of wind and weather beat the fence pieces into broken pieces and eventually the garden was dismantled, plants moved and a general eye sore grew in its place. The pond was in a state of flux and rocks, etc, were flung into the old garden space. Milkweed pod plants grew in profusion and the monarch butterflies came to live there. It was ugly, but it was butterfly home so we left it alone. I wish I had before pictures, but maybe I don't. It was a little embarrassing all the junk we found in the spot when AH began clearing it.
This past weekend magic happened. It might not seem like it to the average observer, but the end result has made me so happy that it certainly feels like magic. That poor old garden space and the leftover pool deck wood came together to create this:
That giant hole in the foreground will be the new pond and we will be able to lounge upon that deck and enjoy it. It still needs a little landscaping.
And there is still some junk that needs to find its way to the curb, but oh joy, oh joy. It's also quite close to the fire pit, which is a bonus.
The afternoons will bring lovely shade to this spot. Three cheers and a loud HURRAH for AH and all his hard work. I can hardly wait for the weather to get warm enough to spiff it up with some potted plants.
I have been feeling crumby all week. Congestion headache that has now traveled south to a cough. I have felt mighty guilty resting while AH worked but the end result has completed brightened my day. Mwah! !♥♥♥






