Another sitting area

My projects always seem to grow hair!  After I finished the patio from previous post, I looked around for ways to improve the area where our chiminea is.  I've always wanted to do 'something' in that little area, but never knew what.  I saw something similar to this in a magazine and decided to just copy the idea.

 I went to my favorite hardware store and purchased some loose flagstones and some crushed granite to do this project.

Spider webs intrigue me.  I snapped a photo of this one right before I ran in to it. The sun was shining right on it so I got a pretty good shot of it.  Nature is so incredible.  Have you ever just sat and watched a spider build a web?  They do it so quickly and the pattern is so geometrically perfect.

The first thing I did was loosen the soil in that area around the chiminea to lay the flagstone.  I didn't plan the layout, because I wanted it to be random looking. 

Look,,,here's my little lizard friend again.  This time she watched me from my little weather vane and she switched to green.  Such a nosey little critter.  She watches everything I do.

The final step of the project was to fill in the space between the flagstone with the crushed granite.  I just poured it on top and then swept it with a broom to fill in between.

I love the chiminea, even in the summer time.  If you burn pinion wood, it repels the mosquitoes and it smells wonderful. 

There's nothing better than sitting outside after a long day, with a glass of wine, Frank Sinatra playing through the outdoor speakers, and the smell of the pinion wood.  Ahhh,,,so relaxing.

I think I might install a misting system on the back patio as my next project.  In August, it will be difficult to sit outside for very long without a cooling system.  I already have a ceiling fan installed, but water just makes it about 5-10 degrees cooler.  I need to do some reading to find out the best approach.  You KNOW I will come up with something!

Until next time....