isn't really a corner at all. But, it's that one spot where I just find joy no matter what.
For 10 years, we didn't have a backyard. Sometimes it didn't matter - we had campuses we could walk around, playgrounds we could visit, and driveways we could use chalk on. But, other years, I found it unbearable to not have a safe place where our kids could run around. It was about this time that we moved.
This house wasn't on our radar at first, because it was just a year older than we had hoped to buy. But, after driving to the parallel cul de sac and seeing the backyard for the first time, I was sold. I knew that this was going to be our home.
This "corner" is what I could see from our rear neighbor's side yard.
Today it is a bit different, but vastly improved to meet our needs. The table and chairs were a fantastic find at, of all places, Wal-Mart (after searching high and low for a decent set everywhere else). The beautiful umbrella was a replacement for my red one from Pier 1, but it has since broken under the weight of a huge ice and snow storm.
Since Jack was too small to sit in a chair at that time, we hung a swing - one of our first "home improvement" projects. Now he spends hours in that swing, completely mellow, feeling the wind in his face and watching his sisters at play. I love that he can either face out or in, depending on where the action is or where the sun is shining.
To the left, you can see our fire pit. I personally rearranged the landscaping so that it would have a stable, concrete base to sit on. But, more importantly, it's representative of our great neighbors. In the cooler summer evenings and brisk fall nights, you can walk down our street and see no less than four families with their fire pits out on the driveway and dozens of neighbors out walking around, drinking glasses of wine or bottles of beer, while kids ride bikes up and down the cul de sac or play basketball in the dark. When we moved here, we had no idea that it would be such a part of our lives, and were a bit dismayed by the huge pile of fire wood in the back until we made that connection.
Further back, against the side of the house on the left, is my first real garden. I tore out some mulchy areas back there because I knew I needed to learn this art! We had peppers - SO many jalapenos with the drought and hot summer of last year - a few tomatoes, some bell peppers, and more basil than one family could eat in a lifetime of pestos and caprese salads. There are just three plants remaining now - sage, lavender, and rosemary - but seeing that gorgeous green reminds me that spring is coming and that I CAN grow things!!!
And, of course, it's the place where everything happens outside - where the kids sit and eat popcicles on a hot summer day, where the children of friends eat lunch outside, not wanting to be far from play, where the pinatas are hung at birthday parties and marshmallows are roasted, where we barbecue and drink coffee and sit and just live.
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