<a href="http://bucktowngarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IMG_8463.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-979" alt="IMG_8463" src="http://bucktowngarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IMG_8463-200x300.jpeg" width="200" height="300" /></a>Luckily I had a new sump pump laying around  to pump water off the veranda.  The extremely cold winter froze the drain so water from melting ice is pooling and finding its way inside.  So far the pump works although it must be operated manually.  This wouldn't have been necessary had I kept vigilant about keeping snow cleared on the veranda level.

It's raining today and the pump has kept a lot of water from draining into the downstairs bedroom.  I suspect there is a small breach on a corner seam that pretty much stays dry being under an eave so the leak never became a problem.

Pretty soon I'll start feeding the birds and I have quite a few new garden related construction projects planned.  I am eliminating all alley planters this year to maybe be rebuilt in 2015.
<a href="http://bucktowngarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IMG_8386.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-981" alt="IMG_8386" src="http://bucktowngarden.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IMG_8386-300x190.jpeg" width="300" height="190" /></a>The wood from the alley planters will be reused into replacement planters for the main roof and front corner parkway. The front parkway will be a completely new planting this spring. More on this later. To the left is a pic taken right before the thaw.  The pile of shoveled snow is the new in ground parkway that will be planted with two new trees and the mature raspberry bushes that grew in a container for the last 4 years.  Hopefully the snow pile protected the raspberry roots so they'll sprout