On day 9 R used the weed eater to get the side yard under control. Day 10 was for cleaning up all the mess it made. So I started on that in the morning... well until I met our resident snake. Yes it's just a garter snake, and not very big. But still. It's never fun to discover the "stick" you're raking moves. So I got a little more than half of it raked into piles before that. Plus my grass allergies weren't helping things at all. So R finished cleaning it up when he got home. He's got big boots for the job, which helps. He also picked up all the garbage out of the grass - everything from screwdrivers, to baseballs, to fondue tongs. No needles at least, so we've happy about that.

We also did more cleaning and finally made a dent in the unpacking. The kitchen in particular is becoming quite a bit more functional now.

We have a beautiful maple tree that creates a canopy over our side deck. It gives us wonderful shade and has unique leaves. Unfortunately, when the wind kicks up it makes a HUGE mess. And when Fall arrives, we are going to have a lot of work ahead of us keeping the deck cleaned off. But for now, we plan to enjoy it!