The "Yardwork" I Keep Talking About

If I’ve talked to you recently, I’ve probably mentioned that since I quit my last job and started my new one, I’ve had quite a bit of free time to work in the yard. I probably also mentioned that we’ve been working on fixing up the Crappy Casita. And I probably also mentioned that I’d put up some pictures on the blog eventually. Well, here are a few sort-of recent pics that you can check out:

Angela's face in this picture reflects our general approach to the Crappy Casita when we moved into our new house. In other words, we thought, "Oh my God, do we really have to do something with this shitty little shack in the back of the lot that blocks our view of the Pacific?" In the end, we've decided to try to fix it up some, but there's nary a day that goes by in which we don't dream of just bulldozing it.

Here's a slab of concrete to the side of the Crappy Casita. It was covered in mud, so I scraped it up into piles and then dumped it in other parts of the lot. In true Ryan Sitzman fashion, this was the first of my many yardwork projects that were rendered pointless by future work.

This is what I mean by "rendering pointless." The septic tank in the casita had to be replaced (the area to the right of the window is the casita's bathroom), so some of Angela's sister-in-law's brothers came by to replace it.

The new septic tank and tubing.

Next project: Cover the concrete area with some sort of roof. We're hoping to keep it as a sort of patio for drying clothes in sun or rain, so it'll be open on the sides. We may also have to eventually put in a water tank and pump for the dry months (or the months when the Berlin water service is particularly incompetent and cuts off the water around 10 AM).

A few of the metal pillars and trusses going up. The work was done by Nelson, Angela's sister-in-law Ligia's brother, and the welding was done by Ronald, Angela's brother.

ACCOMPLISH IT!
(At least Dustin and Sam understand this.)

Ronald and Nelson working. The roof panels go up quickly! These guys are real troopers, and we're grateful to know them!

Keeping on keeping on.

Some of the transparent panels in the back, to allow us to hang clothes even when it's rainy or windy (and so our neighbors don't have to see our clothes hanging in the yard).

To break up these pictures, here's our cat Cucho being adorable and arm-wrestling with Angela.

Next project: cut down the remains of a tree that halfway blew down. Tools needed: Machete and saw, preferably at the same time.

This is still a work in progress, but we had some left over cinder blocks, so I made a path from the Crappy Casita to the main house. Obviously, some of the blocks were shittier than others (hence the broken one in front, which I'll have to replace).

Finally, I gathered hundreds or maybe of thousands of rocks throughout the lot and put made them into a sort of border around the driveway and the perimeter of the house. That really sucked, cause I had no idea how much of a toll it'd take on my knees. But it looked nice, and it also paved the way for GRASS! The guy in the picture is Juan Manuel, our grass dealer.

We bought a couple hundred square meters of grass to go around the house in a little strip, as well as to fill in the whole front, and halfway fill in one side yard.

Here's the side yard. On the left, you can see my rockwall and (sorta) see the chiflera sticks I planted, which are starting to send out buds.

Another view, with the chiflera sticks.

The front yard.

What else to say but "HIGH FIVE!!"??

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