So many weeds, so little time...

Nothing much exciting to report (yet again), but my Dad requested some updated pictures of the yard after we spent a significant chunk of our weekend working out there again.

After a solid week of rain, which continued on Saturday, it wasn't looking like we would get anything much done. Especially after we discovered the beginnings of an indoor swimming pool in our garage. This led to some serious exploration of the cave (aka the space under the house), the discovery that the rocks under the house weep a significant amount of water when it rains, a lot of fiddling with the pump that is supposed to drain it all away, a trip to Bunnings, some new outdoor plumbing and some very muddy shoes. I have been informed that this is all part of the joy of owning a new house.

And after all that, the stupid pump still isn't working right. At least the garage is dry.

Anyway, the rain eventually stopped and we did manage to do some more cleaning up outside. Now the whole area down the side of the house is completely clear. Which amounts to approximately one sixth of the backyard. Sigh.

Under all those weeds were quite a few terraced garden beds. Although I'm sure that if we dig enough we could turn the whole thing into one giant slab of rock. Would certainly make the weeding easier...

And we found out that the wooden structure (just off the right side of the picture) is the footing for a cubby house (which now lives in the neighbour's yard).

And the rubbish pile continues to grow.

And, lastly, a tribute to Ryan. Every time we decide to do some work in the yard, he finds another "sapling" to "prune". There's a big old kookaburra that likes to perch on top of this one.

This might take a while

Mission number one for the weekend: sleep in.

Consider that mission accomplished :)

Mission number two for the weekend: test ride the bike route from home to work.

I've been thinking that I really need to get back on the bike(s) and that commuting to work would be a good way to get fit again. I finally overcame the hurdle of stressing about riding in the traffic by scoping out a route that involves mostly back-streets and bike paths. Ryan and I test-rode (some of) it today. It was hot and very hilly and we only made it halfway :(

So that would be a fail.

Mission number three for the weekend: acquire PlayTV

This was more of a Ryan mission but because I drove him to the shops, I am claiming some of the credit. Scored it for $30 thanks to a 40% off sale at Myer (and an already discounted product - normally retails for around $100).

Success.

Mission number four for the weekend: get some more work done in the yard.

Well, we definitely made a significant difference to approximately one eighth of the yard. Sigh. Ryan took care of some overgrown saplings (definitely not trees because that would be against the council rules...) and I shoveled, swept and weeded clear the rock face down the side of the house. I thought it was a series of rock terraces, but once all the crap was cleared off, it turned out to be just one BIG slab of rock. I can only imagine how much it must have sucked to build our house...

Before:

After:

More before:

And after:

I know it probably doesn't look like much, but we moved a LOT of dead leaves, dirt, grass, weeds and the occasional random dog toy. Now we just have to figure out what to do with this: