We moved back to Calgary in 2004, and bought a year old house in a new development. On the surface, it looked like the yard was in quite good shape, although it needed some work. However, a combination of a very windy micro-climate, very little top soil, and poor quality sod placed on top of hard packed glacial till made it rough going.
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7u-J31gkgtA/Rkkpz4k7IaI/AAAAAAAAAAM/9iYxVGuwnXY/s320/backyard.jpg)
To exacerbate the situation, the existing fire pit didn't mesh well with small children, and I ruined any semblance of a smooth lawn surface my bringing a bobcat onto the lawn in June of 2005 during the rainy season.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7u-J31gkgtA/RkkqUIk7IbI/AAAAAAAAAAU/OMLjkO9FDMw/s320/yard1.jpg)
These were some of the early challenges that I was to overcome...