May 2022, The backyard continues.  In just a few weeks this will finish up, and I'm excited.  Stuff is growing - the dogwood tree, a Japanese Maple, a 'rocket' arbor vitae, as well as a huge complement of perennial plants and shrubs.  At the end of last year, it was just beginning to look like things were filling in nicely, and I anticipate that will continue.   

This pergola / arbor came together pretty easily.  The structure was built last summer, and now I'm completing the 'roof' joists.  It really brings a lot of presence to the area, and makes it feel positively room-like.  An outdoor room.  

Soon, the doors below will replace the ugly window that I have been looking at since 2009.  I'm borrowing heavily from the backyard of my prior house, but learning a little as well.  In the old place, I ordered a reallllly beautiful set of large carriage house doors for the garage, a bit like these.  They were made of wood, were 4 inches thick, required special strap hinges to hang them.  They were really beautiful to look at.  They were also expensive and required yearly finish maintenance to keep them looking that way.  The set of doors below are from Mastercraft, and they are fiberglass. They came pre-hung and require only installation, they are mostly maintenance free and have a lifetime warranty, and came delivered to the house from Menards with a leadtime of one week.  Need I say more? Ahh - and they were affordable.  

 

Well, a few weeks have passed and the pergola is now finished.  It was a surprisingly easy project, although a lot of steps, parts, and of course the "up and down" on the ladder a bazillion times.  There has been a snafu with the carpenter for the door install, and of course I am in the" waiting to hear something" stage there.  

The carpenter arrived last week to do the door install.  Unfortunately, inattention coupled with a strong gust of wind toppled the door which had been standing in the new opening, breaking one of the windows. Lesson of the day:  Broken windows happen, and dealing with it typically involves replacing the glass from the hardware store.  This type of door, while affordable, has glass that is embedded in the door itself, it is not replaceable.  Instead, you replace the whole door.  Good to know! So, the door has been ordered, and already delivered.  I hope the install will go smoothly.  Pics below:

And the 2022 Final  (siding to be replace with a different color next year):