My Minnesota Backyard

When I first moved in a neighbor tried to pressure me into cutting everything down in the back and planting a lawn (I have enough material to write a novella and a movie script on my experience with her)...the 3 kids tried to convince me to do the same and put a pool in (there's another script)...but I pretty much kept it this way because I love the way it is...there are oaks that were here before Minnesota became a state..I enjoy just being back there and not seeing any other houses...its my little park/oasis in suburban Minneapolis...I've cut back on some of the trees and wild growth in the back over the last 15 years and built some pathways - one day I decided to count the pavers I laid - over 1000...My wife has planted hundreds of hostas, ferns and shrubs...a lot of research went into shade loving plants for zone 4...The contrast between winter and summer in the back is startling....It's the spring - summer-fall that makes me want to stay put and not move to an apartment/condo. I figure I can travel/hangout in warmer climes in the winter in a few years and I'll have this to come home to.