opening up the backyard

The space between the corner of our house and our neighbor’s house is only a few feet. Previous owners made the space seem even tighter by putting up a fence that cut in from the property line. Here’s what it looked like last summer:
Water collects here

It looked better after we removed the sunporch and cut back some of the bushes:
Backyard

After we had our land surveyed and realized that the fence didn’t represent the true property line, I wanted to tear down the fence and rebuild it in the correct place. But, that was not a financially wise plan of action. However, I really wanted to take down at least the one part of the fence to open up our backyard a little. It’s hard to explain!

Our neighbors moved out last week and their house is now for sale. If there’s a good time to take care of any property line details, it is now. We also want to clean out the ditch between our two properties (technically on their side of the line) because it is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Yesterday Paul took down the part of the fence that has been bugging me. The posts are still up, but overall the space looks much more open!
Removing the fence in the backyard

Our backyard looks trashy, I know. We really need to hire the landscaper we plan to hire… I think we’re hesitating because it’s such a big sum of money! Anyways, this will help them get into the backyard and make the transition space from the side to the back much easier. I’m hoping they can take out the posts for us, too.

Someday we’ll put up the fence again to completely close in our backyard. I hope to have a dog someday (after we’re done having children!) so having a fenced in yard will be important. But, we’ll see how everything else goes. Putting up a fence along the side yard to keep toddlers in and trespassers out is a bigger priority for me. :-)