At our old house we had crape myrtles lining two sides of our backyard. They looked really nice when they bloomed each year. With the exception of the one tree in our front yard that was included with the landscaping we were treeless but we finally fixed that recently. In the past few weeks we've added three trees to our back yard. It started off with planting a flowering cherry tree in one corner and then adding two apple trees (Winesap and Red Delicious) in the other corner. Planting anything in the yard with the amount of rocks in the dirt isn't easy. I have a mattock I bought years ago for use at the old house that's been invaluable anytime I've needed to do any sort of digging.
Flowering Cherry Tree
Apple Trees
Over the Memorial Day weekend I built a new workbench using the 2x4 Basics Workbench Kit. My prior set up was a smaller homemade bench sitting next to another square one that had belonged to Jenny's granddad. The set up didn't work very well for me so I sold the homemade one and moved the square one to the other side of my air compressor. In their place using the aforementioned kit I built a longer bench that is already working out much better. I also went a step further and stained it using a small cheap can of cherry wood stain. Eventually I'm also going to add a frame on top to support a work light using the included shelf link pieces but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Also over the Memorial Day weekend I picked up a miter saw. (Side note: Lowe's will price match Amazon. I saved $20 this way.) I don't do a whole lot of woodworking but when I do it requires pulling out a folding workbench, clamps, and a circular saw along with running an extension cord to cut anything. I used the saw to build the workbench and another stand to hold my yard tools. I really wish I had bought one years ago, it so much easier and quicker to make the cuts needed. Seeing as I have a four inch long scar above my right knee from an incident with an angle grinder years ago I think my wife gets a bit nervous when I get a new power tool.
Back in April I picked up a 22 foot telescoping ladder when it went on sale for 35% off. I mainly needed it to reach the outside dryer vent up on the second floor to clean it and for hanging Christmas lights on the top of the house at the end of the year. I also was finally able to reach the crappy little CFL light bulb Ryan Homes puts in the garage. It didn't put out much light and also took a little while to reach full brightness. I replaced it with a 100 watt daylight LED bulb that Home Depot is selling for $10. (Best price I've seen anywhere.) It made a big difference out there. (Excuse the mess.)
Three other significant upcoming projects: staining the fence and sealing the driveway. I've been putting these off all spring and really need to get them done soon. I'm also going to be adding additional shelving in the garage above the door. We still don't have a shed yet and I've got too much stuff still sitting on the floor. (As the picture above clearly shows.)
