We realised I was never going to get things all done. I hadn’t the inclination or the time to perform the miracles that my backyard needed to make it look presentable. When I pulled down my asbestos bungalow in December last year, we said we’d leave it a few months until a grand vision came to us, but our creative alter-egos have long since departed for more worthy types and we became stuck. So, needing to make progress lest it all become a bit overwhelming, I called a garden centre guy, who was only slightly more confident than us, but who said he’d take it on. For some very good dollars. We agreed. He’s been here for 4 days now, and the yard is slowly taking shape. Each morning I make him a cup of tea, and yabber about my dogs whilst he wipes the sweat from his brow and indulges me. There seems to be quite a difference between what’s on the quote and what he does, so we’ve made lots of adjustments. We had a shiny corrugated iron fence which would reflect light and heat in summer, so today it got the Slate Grey paint treament before the new fence is built in front. Concrete has been poured. Cordials have been mixed to help with the unseasonal heat. Chloe is wary but surprisingly tolerant of the ordeal. And in another week we’ll have a presentable yard before we leave for Perth. 