Finished!

....probably. To the best of my knowledge. I hope.

The man cave is officially done. It was a long process, wasn't it? Or maybe it just seems that way to me because I've been staring out my back windows at it for the past couple of years watching as it slowly but surely inched it's way to completion. Oh, it's been functional for a good year and a half now. We stalled a bit on the exterior, specifically railing for the side porch and stacked rock. The railing came last summer. As of this past week, the stacked rock is finally done. And wow...what a difference that rock makes! It was interesting watching the workmen put it up. It's quite time consuming, kind of like putting together a puzzle.

Here's a before pic....before not only rock but apparently railing also:

Here's some pictures of the rock progress:

These big boxes of rock were in the driveway in front of my side of the garage. I had to park out behind them for a few weeks. It's nice to have my spot back again...

And the finished product....

Doesn't it look nice? As you can maybe see, we have a lot of yard work to do to reclaim our backyard now that things are finally finished up. Things like nurturing our poor lawn that has suffered mightily from construction and trenching and lack of water due to cut sprinkler lines. But also, we need to figure out what to do with the space to the sides and back of the building. I'm kind of thinking some serious hedges to the one side, and maybe some more garden boxes on the other. I'm excited to plant some more trees and fill in that skinny little flower bed that I insisted the workmen make for me when creating that pathway in front of the building to the porch. I'm anxious to get some reclining lawn chairs up there on the porch. I guess what it truly boils down to is excitement for finally LIVING in our backyard. It's got potential to be really, really great. I watched Rebekah and all her hordes of friends back there for her birthday party last weekend (more on that in a few days) and saw what could be, what will be...what really already is to some extent. I'm hoping this is the year.

And in other non-related man cave news but kind of goes along with all the backyard talk....as I was heading back to the house after taking man cave pictures I noticed that my lilac bushes are in bloom. This is my favorite flower bed...even though it's so simple. I wish the lilacs could flower all summer!

 And then I heard a bit of contented squawking, and found these little guys...

...which is kind of funny because last week I found them on the other side of the house here.

 I guess they are enjoying the blooming flowers as well.

If you are interested in the whole man cave saga...
Progress Update
My lawn is crying
Another man cave update
It's done...mostly
One step closer to completion