Let’s tear this place up!

The Great Dane and I walk by this recently built house just about every day. Lately, the owner has been methodically tearing out this large section of his lawn.

Built on a curve in the road, this house is either built on a double lot or a really big oversized lot. Just after it was complete, the owner tore out all the landscaping around the house. He removed all the shrubs and mulch, and put down sod in those areas. New home landscaping typically isn’t exciting. Once you’ve closed on the house, you can fix up your yard any way you want.

Next, the owner installed about two dozen lights in the yard. The lights were along the driveway or front walkway. They were all out in the middle of the yard. I’m sure there was a reason.

Next, he set up cinderblocks and two-by-fours as a makeshift fence. At first, I thought he might be setting up a little garden. But every day the cleared area grew bigger. I only saw him working on it one time. With nothing more than a grubbing hoe, he chopped away at his lawn. I took the above picture two weeks ago. As of this morning, he had cleared out that whole area. I should have stopped to ask him why he was tearing up all the sod.

Okay, so what’s going on? What’s the plan? What is he going to do with this thousand square foot area?

• Maybe he’s going to pave this area and move the fence closer to the road. But that’s a huge area for a paver patio.

• If he were putting in a pool, he would have let the contractor take all that out with heavy machinery.

• He’s already got a large fenced-in backyard. It seems like that’s where you would put your pool or patio.

• Adding on to the house? I’d see a permit.

• Maybe he wants a different kind of grass. St. Augustine grass takes lot of water and care. Perhaps he’ll go with Zoysia or Bahia.

• Maybe he’ll plant lots of trees and have a little park next to his house. That’s a creative idea.

I’m interested to see what happens next. Oh, and you know what else? All the windows are blacked out, so I see no light from inside when we walk by in the evening. Hmm. What do you think is going on in there?