Backyard Path

We can't afford to do any major renovations to the house/yard until Al is done with school, but we like to continue to spruce things up wherever we can.  The layout of one corner of our yard didn't make any sense.  The gate in our fence opens to nothing but grass, and you have to walk all through the yard to get to the patio. 

I started the project while Al was working in DC for 5 weeks.  I was able to get the logs cleaned up and the shrubbery removed (with my dad's help).  Here is the before...

1 - Here's the gate in the corner, but there's no where to go when you get in.
2 - Mud pit created by Penny.  When the UPS man makes deliveries across the street, we are at a threat level 5, and the only solution is to kick up dirt and grass.
3 - The wood pile is very sad.  Al had been asking for a log rack for a while...guess what he received for his birthday??
4 - This hosta may look tiny, but it was April when I took this photo.  All of my backyard hostas grow to be at least 4' in diameter.
5 - This random bush had a root that was almost 6" thick.  I dug and dug, and eventually, after calling my dad to help, I was able to remove the darn thing.

Once Al was home, we were able to move the mulch, stones, and edging out of the way.  We purchased sand, dirt, patio blocks, and grass seed for about $75.  We dug a place for the patio block, filled the hole with sand, hammered the sand flat, and placed the patio block.  Once the patio block was level, we filled around the block with soil.  We worked after K went to bed and only got 1 or 2 blocks done a night.  The project is finally finished, and we are thrilled with the results.

"What are you doing?" - Al

As you can see we are waiting for the grass to fill in the blank spots.  It is very difficult to grow grass in a severe drought, but we are watering daily and trying to be patient.  We have a temporary fence up to keep the dogs out of the corner until the grass fills in.