What makes a great backyard? Tough question, because for most of us, our backyard, if it does what we want it to do, is as good as we need and for all of us, function is the number one factor. But there is more to a back yard than how you use it and in some cases, it is the way you, or someone has planned and developed the property, to achive the goal that was in the mind of the planner.

The yard chosen as the best, actually goes back to planning the setting for the house. The house was built at the end of a street with the Doghide River as the main feature of its back yard. Fortunately, this yard is well above the flood level, but shares two turns in the river and the yard is the beginning for the hiking trail along through to St. Theresa Park. With this setting, the yard almost works itself out and has the trees along the river to provide a constant year round selection of birds and the view from the yard and from the house over the yard, is never the same, as the seasons give this special setting a dynamic environment.

We see this small, but active yard, in the spring, with the trees coming into leaf and in the quiet of this east side of Tisdale, across from the R.C.M.P. detachment office, you can hear the mumble of the river, as it slides by, now well below flood stage. Only weeks ago, with it over flowing, it was a gentrle rumble to the owners of the property.