2007 was very warm and one of the driest summers on record, besides the heat it was all around a perfect summer.
The yard still had no fence. My only dog at the time Mimi thought this was the perfect scenario, moving from Toronto where she pretty much only experienced apartment life, city parks, with occasional trips to the beach and the cottage. This move must have been doggy heaven for her and my new nightmare.
Mimi’s a pretty obedient dog, just imagine her delight a new place to explore with no defined boundaries. She slowly started to check out the adjoining yards and every time I whistled and called for her she’d loyally come trotting back. 
Of course as I got more absorbed with various projects, I’d forget to keep an eye on her and she took full advantage of this. Her queue to check out the park beside the house, this is where we go for walks along the creek, a casual stroll over to the high school across the street the list goes on.
Mimi’s new found adventurous spirit pretty much dictated that my first project would be to install a fence. Due to the length of the yard this pretty much limited my budget to a chain link fence. I added a small dog run on the west side of the house, this ended up being wood to match the neighbors fence.
Yep thats a ground hog
Using a basic but effective consumer landscape cad software, I plotted my property dimensions and started working though different ideas that I formed in my head and needed to properly visualize on paper.
I had grandiose ideas and figured I’ve got the space why not. I always wanted a pergola, a pond, a pool and a kick ass workshop/ shed. To date none of these have happened except for the pool (summer of 2008), for various reasons.
Don’t get me wrong I had no intention on adding all of these elements to the yard in one fell swoop. I was working on developing a master plan and gradually working in different elements as my budget would permit.
Now with the fence in place, time to move onto the second project move the garden shed (8′x8′) further away from the house, roughly 50′. After exploring various options the most cost effective option was a few cases of beer, a BBQ and 3 41/2″x 81/2′ sections of PVC pipe. As you can imagine we rolled the shed and the beer and food was for my buddies that I called upon to assist.
Now with those two projects out of the way I could start working on a proper yard layout.
