Finally! Essentially done!

At last, we seem to be at the conclusion of all of our major home improvement projects. Last year, as you will recall, we had a new sunporch constructed and replaced our old, tired siding and shingles. Last month, as you can learn from recent postings, I completed building a deck just east of our sunporch. Two days ago, a landscaping crew arrived to repair the yard, which was damaged during last year's construction and also by the preparations I needed to do prior to building the deck. This was a crew that Rob had recommended to me. They did a very nice job. First, they smoothed the area near the sunporch.

I had relocated quite a bit of earth from the deck area to just south of the sunporch, so the yard had been "shaped" pretty much as I wanted it to be, but the process of granulating and smoothing the surface required equipment like that you see here.

I was amazed at what a nice job the tractor's attachment did. It is called a gill or harley rake–I don't recall the exact terminology.

We also had them add some dirt near the entrance to the driveway. I had previously added extensions to the culvert on each side. I put up reflectors to try to discourage people from turning improperly, dropping off the asphalt, and gouging this new edging. It remains to be seen how well that works. Too few people are good at nice "square" turns.

Last week, Kathie and I took down the smaller of the two blue spruce trees near the turnout in the driveway. I rented a stump grinder and took care of that part of the job too. So, the landscapers smoothed this area and added some dirt to help stop the pooling that frequently occurred here when we had heavy rain. We hope that the lawn will grow better here now, since more sun can reach the ground under the nearby pin oak and the remaining spruce.

Then yesterday, I completed the deck by building a set of steps down to the yard. I used concrete patio blocks to create a landing. The drainage tube extension on the downspout is a temporary solution to the erosion that would occur if we allowed rainwater to drain directly onto the yard while the grass is coming in. You can see that I've started watering to try to get the new seeding to sprout. Warm weather and gentle rains would be welcome now.

Here is what the steps look like up close.