Sunshine brings outdoor projects...

I've always said I have a love/hate relationship with our house - there are some things I love about it (the character!) and some things I hate (little/no/poor insulation means HIGH gas bills!). One of the things that I love/hate is our sump pump. I adore the former owner who waterproofed and installed the pump pump in our basement, but I have always wished that it didn't drain into the middle of the backyard, creating a mud puddle when it rains, an ankle-twisting hazard when mowing the lawn, and a general eye sore at all other times.

This weekend we enjoyed some beautiful weather - about sixty degrees and sunny - so outdoors we went! Nick bought some extra PVC pipes and a trenching shovel and we set to work diverting the sump pump drain to a more appropriate spot.

The digging up of the original drain and the aforementioned hole:


A view of the new ditch that heads to the side of the yard:


The new drain in place:




Ditches, both old and new, filled in with dirt:


The hole filled in!


The new discharge spout in the sideyard:


After we dug up the yard, it was our intention to put down some grass seed in areas where the backyard was a little bare. After Nick hand-tilled nearly half the backyard, we now have a mudpit instead:


Keep your fingers crossed the the grass seed we put down turns into beautiful, thick green grass!