The Challenge

A few weeks ago, my brother-in-law and his family came down to help with the lawn.

That brown patch is where they dug up the giant section of weeds that had replaced grass.

We were finally able to get the lawnmower out to even everything out (it was looking pretty shabby with the existing grass being so tall and the new grass coming in).

We call it "franken-grass" because of the mixture of existing grass, new seed, and sod that went into the yard. It's still a little patchy in spots and we're still fighting weeds, but it looks SO much better now.

In the meantime, we've sort of been ignoring the backyard, hoping it would resolve its issues on its own... here's a little glimpse to let you see what became of it:

We decided the least we should do is mow, so out my husband went...

We still need to do something with the remaining raised flower bed (with no flowers) and the huge compost pile that has developed in the corner. In the end, we might till the whole backyard and start from scratch, adding a little garden and a play area.

One thing is certain, the back gate needs repaired... (it doesn't open or shut properly)

On a side note, I think it might be appropriate to point out what a friend to the environment I am... or not. These are the empty spray cans from the painting projects I've been working on in the last couple months...