How our yard makeover almost broke my marriage

Yard photo at sunrise by Jewel Allen

I have a new firefighter romance to draft, but I need to get this off my chest. I need to share my tale of how our yard makeover almost broke my marriage.

Front yard, before photo by Jewel Allen

Almost-done front yard, after photo by Jewel Allen

We had been in this house for ten years when we finally decided we needed to re-do our entire yard. We live on six acres of horse property out in the country, but carved out only a half acre for our home and yard. When we first moved in, we’d commissioned barns and fences. To simplify matters (and due to cash flow realities), the yard simply involved lawn in the front, side, and back.

Fast forward ten years later, and our kids have grown and flown, and we’re empty nesters. We’re back to hosting little babies, this time our married children with their children. The use of our yard has evolved over time. We’re back to having a dog, even though I vowed, after our beagle Emmie died, that I would never have a dog again; losing one would be too painful.

So, with a casual inventory of what our yard needed, we could at least agree upon…