Thanks everyone.
Marilyn: Our old house (that we will be renting out later this summer after some renovation) has the swimming pool. The new house has a much smaller property, which is a plus in my opinion because as I'm getting older I don't want so much yard work!
I've always loved attracting songbirds to the garden and I have a few feeders out, plus there are trees and shrubs with lots of berries for the birds also. Here in the new neighborhood most of the homes have manmade canals that run behind the properties, so along with the regular backyard birds I get to see Heron's, Egrets and Osprey's on an almost daily basis as well! Someone recently asked me if I missed the pool but we hadn't used the pool in years so I don't miss it a bit. There was much more container grow area with the large screened pool deck and attached covered deck at the old house but in the new house there's a nice large deck that runs the length of the back of the house ... so I have lots of space for plants out there. We are considering screening the deck in the near future so we will be able to spend more time out there during the summer months and not have to fight off mosquito's!
