So, here's a shot of the backyard we've been accustomed to. Up to now it's been a rocky sand pit where we let the dogs do their business. We decided this was the next stop on our journey to having a real yard. The dogs will now use the side yard, which will continue to look a lot like this, and we'll start renovating the back for ourselves.

Can you spot the uninvited guest? This is the interloper known as Zack's Bane. We're not quite sure what to do about him yet. I'm kind of fond of gophers in general, but that's not an easy notion to cling to when you have one digging holes in your garden and making the dogs crazy...

We had several truckloads of loam brought in so we could plant grass. It's actually a lot larger out there than we thought. Unfortunately, this means that the mica excavations will be a thing of the past, but there's still plenty if you want to climb down over the cliff to look.