Before & After

I may sound weird, but I really like before & after pictures - of projects, things, people, whatever. Sometimes our memories don't serve us as well as we would like so "before" pictures help you realize just how much things change over time. I have really enjoyed watching the changes around our house from working on projects here and there and even by the changing seasons. The person who lived here before us was very elderly and the place had gotten quite run down. The grass, trees, and brush had overgrown, the house was filled with spiders, and there was garbage buried in random places, like the bottom of a pond (see picture below). Needless to say, we have plenty of things to do around here.

One of our projects has been our ponds. When we moved here, there were four ponds in a row. All were dry, the first two were overgrown by brush and blackberry vines, and the third was full of garbage. After a huge fire, some trimming, and a lot of digging, we now have three beautiful ponds.

Pond #1 - November 2007:

After we burned most of the vines & brush - December 2007:

It's amazing how much everything grows - August 2008:

Pond #2 - November 2007:

August 2008:

The 3rd and 4th ponds have been combined into one large pond...it is still a work in progress and I just realized that I don't even have any pictures of it. Sometimes I can't believe this is still the same place Ryan showed me over a year ago. I thought he was crazy when I first saw this place, but I guess it turns out he was right all along.