steps in the right direction
As I think I must have said at least once already, I tend not to write about my carpentry projects in these pages because I feel like I should wait until I finish one before I reveal it, and I never actually finish anything. Instead I get to 90 or 95 percent and then get distracted by something else—but it's fine because 90 percent is good enough. Like our back deck. I started building it in September 2019 (as seen in the second photo here) and stopped work when winter weather and darkness took over mid-November. Also I'd blown my whole lumber budget for the year.
But in the two years since then I haven't forgotten my original plans, and this week they took an important step forward with the construction of the stairs by the chicken coop and a lower deck section and/or bench that continues the curve of the deck around the fire pit. Last weekend I had just thought I was going to do the stairs, but when I got going I thought the other part should be integrated with them so I tore out what I'd done, got some more lumber, and made it even better. These words would make a lot more sense with a picture or two, but I didn't want to photograph the new part of the deck until... I finish it. Hopefully I'll at least get enough screws in by tomorrow that the evening's guests won't fall through! But finished or not the stairs are definitely usable, and I every time I use them I marvel at how easy they make getting around the backyard now. Just imaging how cool this deck'll be when it's done!