{"id":30972,"date":"2020-07-03T00:01:46","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T07:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbarafalconernewhall.com\/?p=30972"},"modified":"2020-07-03T00:01:46","modified_gmt":"2020-07-03T07:01:46","slug":"my-back-yard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/my-back-yard\/","title":{"rendered":"This Summer I’d Like to Travel to the Ends of — My Back Yard. Sheltering at Home Week 16"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"steep-garden-steps<\/a>
These stairs at the side of our house are dangerously narrow, uneven and steep. But they are the only way to get to the curved terrace you see down below. Photos by Barbara Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

July 2, 2020. Sheltering at Home — In My Back Yard. Week 16<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sad. Sad. Sad. No Fourth of July at my favorite Michigan beach. No ambitious jaunts any time soon to places like the Antarctic or Vietnam.<\/p>\n

No. It looks like I’m going to be right here in Oakland, California, for months to come. With the recent, worrisome spike in COVID-19 cases, it’s riskier than ever to get on a bike at the gym, let alone get on a plane to visit kids and grandkids.<\/p>\n

So — what to do for adventure when the only safe place on earth is the quarter acre your house sits on?<\/p>\n

\"narrow-garden-stairs-are-dangerous<\/a>
Those slipshod brick retaining walls have got to go.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ours is a slope-y quarter acre. Right now it’s not easy to get around. Indeed, it’s nearly impossible to enjoy our yards, except through a window or from the deck.<\/p>\n

The hardscaping at our house was put in long before Jon and I arrived here forty-two years ago. It looks to be the work of do-it-yourselfers, and it’s finally giving way to erosion and gravity.<\/p>\n