Adventures in the Back Yard
Outdoors, the back yard is going to
be a haven for any child. Because of the pond and stream
addition, we registered the back yard as a National Wildlife
Habitat. (Shelter, water, food, trees and shrubs make it
ideal for this.) There is a diversity of birds, fish,
and bugs for a child to explore. We currently have koi and
goldfish in the pond (we’re hoping to add a frog soon).
Dragonflies hover around the water as do butterflies,
hummingbirds, and robins.
(In this photo: Lily, a friend's daughter, is staring down a dragonfly on a stick as her
new-born cousin is lulled to sleep by the sounds of the
waterfall.) We have an arbor complete with a hammock as well as a small
organic raised-bed garden in the back yard. There is
plenty of room for a play set and a sand box as well. Todd
is pretty handy and would be able to design a wonderful play house & build it near the red-bud tree!
Most
falls, we throw a low-country boil (a coastal-style cookout) in our
back yard. We cook out in the back yard a lot. We
hang out on the back deck and relax by the pond. We try to
enjoy the yard as much as possible. One
thing we want to start doing, however, is to show movies in the
back yard. We have the rounded stone wall (seen in the
picture at right) which creates a
small amphitheater. We are working on finding a
suitable "screen" and we will be ready to show (rated
G or PG) movies in the spring of
2008!