Another week has passed and we got further ahead in implementing the front yard. Officially the first part of implementatoin is completed and the 2nd part has started. After finishing the foot path  on the west side of the house, we started working on the so called planting strip. This is an area that is owned by the city. It is where the sidewalk is, the driveway approach and an area between the sidewalk and the street, often containing lawn and trees. First thing we had to clean up all the left over concrete. The large pieces we sorted out for later use and the small one and loose rubble I wanted to use for a herb spiral. It turns out we do not have a good location for it currently. After discussing this for a while we decided to bring it to the refuse site - mhhh, not my preferred solution. Again, it seems to me, in order to move the implemention along I am taking a shortcut that is not quite right. This seems to be part of the lessons I am learning - in order to truely live sustainble, there just needs to be an understanding for all involved that things take time - and it is important to be aware of that and plan for it. Planning for this is possible and then everyone can relax and figure out what the best solution is. Anyway - a lot of the smaller pieces we used to build a dry stacked retaining wall for one of the flower/perennial beds - and it looks just great!! Now what with all the dirt we dug out and have no space for and is piled up on the planting strip? As it happens our neighbor across the street is building a house somewhere else and needs back fill. So we brought so far 2 trailer loads to his place. We laid cardboard around the perimeter of the planting strip, cleaned up the curb and are trying to sculpt the remaining material into something gently sloping and waving. This is not as easy as it sounds - at least for us. Also, we completed already the driveway approach, fixed the wobbly stairs out of the backdoor and got the building permit for the front porch approved. Yeeppee! Now the framing for the footing is already in. When I looked at it from the top it seems really tiny. For all this effort, is it worth it?  I think it is - it will give space for starting seedlings and allows growing through the colder time of the year. Of course, only after we developed the porch into a greenhouse growing space, which will take a while.
And today I hope to finish to complete Ouput 4 so far that I can deliver it! Working on this I found interesting information on quack grass for food and as a medicinal.