It seems like we’ve had construction of one sort or another going on in our back yard for ages. Actually, it started June 23 with the fence coming down, and – mark it on the calendar – finished today, August 9.

Incidentally, today is my and Ian’s 11th anniversary. Yay for Team Ferguson!

Anyway, today we got home from our sunny Seaside interlude to a completed trellis and bench. Jim continued working while we were gone, and here’s what our finished product looks like.

I’m going to have to live with it for a while, as some things weren’t exactly as I envisioned (the 2x2s feel really long; the corner of the long beams doesn’t meet and cross, sticking out a bit, as I imagined). But overall, I’m really happy with it. We feel that this really helps define the deck much more, giving that corner a sense of being a room to spend time in, not just an open expanse of boards.

Our current idea is to hang potted plants from the beams, and put some kind of lattice in, possibly along the lower 1/3 of the open area (specifics remain a matter of much continued discussion).The bench is a place where we can entertain, chat, hang out, keep an eye on kids in the yard… I’m happy with the trellis, but I love the bench already.

As always, the yard is a work in progress, and we now have a lot of cleanup to do from these projects – gotta find any nails before running around barefoot – but we’ve taken a step I’m very excited about. Next up: Planting some big trees for future shade and privacy.