Tidy up for Charlie....

So here is Charlie on the porch keeping an eye on things. Most of the time I don't need to tie him to the anchor as he won't go anywhere unless he sees a rabbit.

Here is Lil Richard working on the rough spot in the yard that still needs a dozer or someone with landscaping abilities to smooth it out. The tree in front of him should come down.

This section of the yard is still a left over mess from digging the addition basement and piling the stones, sand, rock willy nilly in the side yard.

There is Sven who is working on a section where I piled the hoses and the drain thingy in a spot I can only weed whack.  I hate the weed whacker. I have to wear a face shield and my clothes just get full of crap.

Easier to let the goat work on the rough areas. He does a fair job but is sort of picky. I generally walk through with a light scythe and trim it a bit further.  

If this side yard gets totally out of hand, I will run a hot wire around it and let the mules in to graze it all down. Well, that is a thought anyway.

Rich keeps saying he'll do it, I keep asking to hire someone and that's where we stand. A side yard that is kind of a mess.

[It took me nearly 5 years to convince him to replace the old carpet in the living room...so there is hope!]

I finally convinced Rich that Charlie needed a nicer area to lay on the blocks in front of the porch.

He agreed. Hmmm.

I was tired of moving those round stepping stones each time I had to mow, so I dug things up, smoothed it out, and put down landscape fabric and mulch.

It looks so much more tidier!

Here is the view of  'Charlie's' look out after putting down fabric and mulch. He alternates between the concrete rounds and the black fake stones. Of course he has his pillow out there and his blanket on the bench. The black blob is Charlie snoozing or supervising from the bench. 

I'd knocked over his water and hadn't cleaned up the stuff I had laying around before taking this shot.

I spend a lot of time on the porch so this is like my living room.

The end result was pleasing. So much nicer to look at than the dirt.

And...

I had a neat place to put my fossil rocks. Well, I think they are fossil rocks.

I have no idea what the rock below is, but I might assume that it was vegetation at some point? Anyway, I found it unique and curious so it found a place in my flower garden for a few years. Now it can be next to the porch.

The next two shots are of Stromatolites or I think they are. 

I love rocks and like to collect odd looking ones that I find while hiking. 

I have iron concretions that I am always picking up after a good gully washer comes through the dry runs and creeks.

Anyway. The porch area looks really nice. Now I have to figure out what to do for the west side of the porch. It looks rather drab after all this tidying up!

Maybe I can get more things done by hiring it out IF I can convince Rich that Charlie would benefit. You know like..."I think Charlie needs a new laptop. Or Charlie needs someone to come in with a dozer and redo the west side yard!"

One thing at a time. I think we will be replacing the old love seat this year too. The old one is worn out and was second hand when we got it 20 years ago. Besides, Charlie might like that [insert giggles here].

My Sunday was a day of rest and wandering about in the overcast and humid forest.

Look for a new funky word....coming soon.