Fire Pit Progress

Back in February, we had an odd heat wave for Ohio... almost spring weather when we should have had snow flurries. I surely wasn't going to decline the sunshine though and that's when I began working on this corner behind our house. We never really had a fire pit sitting area and I had dreamt of a space where we could hang out.

I started with the idea of having an octagon stone area and then filling the space in with pea gravel. So on those few warm days back in February, I began making the stone outline. And now, 6 months later... I am still working on it. Mainly because other priorities took place and where we live in the woods, mosquitoes take over during the muggy summer months.

With the cooler mornings we've been having lately, I can't help but get excited for the fall months ahead. Along with that, I want to have the fire pit area done to enjoy come fall! I knew I wanted to incorporate a hammock area, a fire pit in the middle and some fun string lights. Here's some inspiration I pulled off of Pinterest...

The fire pit area isn't done just yet but I did want to share the progress of what's happening. With half the stone laid, we still need another truckload of the scrap sandstone pieces. If you caught some of my IG stories, I've shared some of the landscaping progress around our house (which I'll share on here soon). With the river rock we had gotten for that project, we had a bunch of dirt mixed in with the stone. After picking through and getting the rock out, I was able to have some filler dirt to level out the fire pit area since it's on a slight decline.

This past week I had dug out the holes for the hammock posts. For those who haven't used a post hole digger, y'all are missing out on a good time. Sarcasm is welcomed here. I want to say we got two 14' or 16' posts. Typically, you wouldn't have to get 4x4" posts this long but these will also be doubling as a place to hang the string lights so I wanted them high enough for ground clearance.

I had dug the posts 2' down and then concreted them in the ground. I linked all the sources below from Lowes. We will have a support beam that will connect the two posts at the top so that will help reinforce the two posts from caving in when the hammock is hung.

Again... a work in progress but I did want to show y'all what's going down! So many projects, so little time. I'd say it's time to finish up projects before we start on another, huh?! I think so! Like I mentioned above, here's a glimpse at the river rock being laid around the house. A little bigger project than I had anticipated but will be worth it when it's finished.

Well... I hope the next time you see our backyard, the fire pit area will be finished! I have another load of stone to get to finish the octagon ring, then it's time for the gravel! I can see the finish line and I can't wait to enjoy some evenings out there!

Hugs, Alyssa