A place of our own { the yard }

When my hubby and I were talking about what we wanted for this house, the word acreage always came into the conversation.  We wanted an acreage.  No doubt about it!  Wide open spaces, the fresh country air, plans for a big garden, freedom to do what you want and not bother or be bothered by neighbours... yes.  We wanted an acreage.

But the reality of things, is that when we were ready to buy, they had pretty much all sold.  We were not interested in buying a house "for now" until we found what we really wanted.  We would only buy the right one and that was it.  To my surprise, my hubby said he'd be willing to buy a house in town, but only if the place was right.  I knew what his wants were: large yard and a garage.  The rest, he wasn't fussy about.  My wants were mostly just a decent kitchen and a large yard as well.  The rest, I would figure out when I'd see the place, if it was a right fit for us.

We didn't end up buying an acreage after all, but today, almost a month after moving into our house, I can tell you that we did find the right place.  It might not be an acreage, but we DO have a large yard.  And the house feels so right, I can't believe we've only been here for less than a month.  It feels like we've been here our whole lives.  Yes, it does feel right indeed.

I have to say, for our town, our yard is rather large.

Some mature trees on each sides, a fire pit at the back, and a big open area in the middle.

So big in fact, that the kids have been riding their bikes non stop in the backyard, lol.  We've been enjoying the openness to bike, trow footballs, kick soccer balls, practice lacrosse with my son, or just use some hand kites.

I don't have any plans for the open area of the yard for now, I do, however, have a plan for this particular tree.  Since I promised my daughter a fairy garden this year, we decided this tree would be the perfect place fairies to live at.  She now refers to it, as "her tree".  (And we also have plans for a sandbox, as I promised my son :)

I have no idea what kind of tree it is, but it's always covered in ladybugs... which just makes it more magical if you ask me ;)

I am constantly discovering new flowers and plants as they grow around the house in the landscaped area.  I am realizing I have no clue when it comes to plants and flowers, but I am also lucky enough to have a very knowledgeable friend about the subject, and she's been a great help!  She even found 2 raspberry bushes in the front that I will be transplanting to give them a chance to grow, and hopefully we will have raspberries in a few years :)

And last but not least, here is my garden.  Right now, I call it the disaster area.  It's full of weeds and mostly quack grass.  And I've been informed that it's extremely difficult to kill quack grass.  I tried already and failed miserably.  So I came to the unfortunate conclusion that I will not be able to grow much of my own produce this year.  But that's ok, I have a plan.  It involves planting some veggies in pots, regular visits to local farms with the kids to collect our own produce (which will still be a great experience for the kids and I), and me working all summer at clearing this area to make sure that it's nice and ready next spring for planting.

Though the garden is just a mess of weeds, there's something you can't quite see in this picture... a nice thriving rhubarb plant in the back!  And even if it's all that I can pick this year, I'll be happy.  It's something.

I have my own piece of nature.
A place of our own.
A place where I can enjoy the sun, shining on my face, as I watch the kids play so happily.
A place where we can observe nature at work, bees collecting pollen, ladybugs and others doing their work, birds (robins, crows, magpies, dove and others)  visiting, plants growing, the earth changing with the seasons.

Oh how I am happy to have a place of our own!