The old deck was in sad shape

The more we looked at the deck, the more we realized that it had to go. It wasn't structured correctly and the railing was completely unsafe. Here's a view from the backyard and from the very backyard.

The pines had to go

In our first year or so in the house, it became pretty clear that the pines closest to the house had to go. We were constantly pulling branches from the roof, and one of the pine trunks was actually hitting the house. Here's the photo from the backyard with the pines gone.

The Back Yard: The way we bought it

This is the way the house looked shortly after we moved in. Note the pine trees near the house. They were the first to go. The one on the right was hitting the house so hard in the wind that it flattened the gutters against the house.