A better back yard and a margarita.

How is everybody doing? Hey its been a while, but i do have a great post for you today. Since I have been feeling better, I have been trying to get some things done that I had put off before I had the super power of breathing. We had our house built a few years ago and it was your plane jane corner lot with no real landscaping or hardscapes to be seen. I thought it best to improve the outdoors in my own back yard. It just seemed to be the best way to get the most outdoor enjoyment on a day to day basis.

 

We started the backyard make over with a deck. We enjoy this just about every evening with our favorite adult beverage. It is just the right size for me and my wife to hangout on and make the best out of what is left of the day. Our back yard is in the shade for the majority of the day; a good coffee in the morning is not uncommon on our deck. However, it became ever apparent that we were in dire need of some veiw improvement. With the help of my mom, and Bobbi Jo from this blog, I had already had some great plants around my yard that I could pull some starters from. I am not a horticultural wizard so I don't know exactly what the names of these plants are but I can give you some ideas of what you are seeing in the photos below. I have a variety of hostas, a barbberry bush, a bunny tail grass and I don't know what the pretty yellow flowers are. If you know please pass along the information.

 

Backyards are truely the essentials of outdoor enthusiasm, it is our little slice of tranquility and green space that we can access on a daily basis. Think of your backyard as a grassroots movement to the enjoyment of nature. Ours is  far from finished, we have plans for a fence so that our poor little beagle bunny can run wild with out having to be tethered to her leash, and the addition of some shade trees would make a wonderful canopy for the dog days of summer that we are all looking forward to enjoying.

 

While working on these projects I have realized that there is more to enjoy about the outdoors than when I had to constantly battle breathing in them. However, now that breathing isn't a problem I have time to dwell on those dang bugs that eat me alive. I must have turned into a sweeter person since the surgery because I swear I have had more bug bites since then than I can remember. Since I work at a large outdoors retailer I went in search of the perfect bug repellent. I started out seeking the product with the most amount of DEET possible, I was willing to risk the skin irritation for some shelter from the swarm of bugs that plagued me. Then I started thinking, these products have longer warnings than tobacco products, maybe I should seek an alternative. I inlisted the help of Trent, our resident camping guru. He turned me on to this silly looking contraption called a Thermacell. "It uses a butane insert and scent wafers to repel the bugs, no harmful chemicals, stink or the annoying sound of bugs getting zapped" he said, and after a thorough interrogation I reluctantly purchased this product along with a holster for it.

 

 

Trent has lived up to his reputation. This little thing is awesome! I brought it home mixed up some of Barry's Famous Margaritas and we hit the deck. I turned the little guy on and had a drink. Then I waited, and waited, and took my shirt off and waited, and to my amazement I didn't get one single bite. I don't even think a bug landed on me. The best part about it was that my wife was not bit either, it has a 15ft radius of protection, an impenetrable barrier that provides hours of bug free enjoyment. I have tried it while I fished, one of the greatest places to find nast ol'mosquitos is near water, and the bugs didn't bug me at all. It has my whole hearted endorsement.

 

Famous Margarita by Barry

2 Onces of Cazadores Reposado Tequila
1 Once of Grand Marnier

2 1/2 Onces of Margaritaville margarita mix or the Juice of 2 large limes

Salt rim generously

 

Sit back my friends, fire up the thermacell, knock back a couple margaritas, and enjoy!

Barry