Clearing out the yew

About a week and a half went by where we didn't go to visit the house due to the weather. It's so dark in the downstairs, and the glass is busted out of a few of the windows, so it gets really cold and drafty in there and it's hard to motivate yourself to do any work at all. The sun finally came out yesterday and we were happy to drive over and get back to work on things.

We only had a few hours to spend working on things so we tackled the side entrance to the house that leads into the room that will (hopefully) be our kitchen. Currently, it's sort of a dark, mildewy den.

The yew bushes on either side of this entrance had grown so large, that we actually weren't even aware it was there at first. A while back I cut a pathway, and was surprised to see that there was actually a nice brick staircase and what appeared to be a small concrete path leading from the driveway.

Closing day- there's a door behind there somewhere

After a little bit of clearing, you can see the door.

Yesterday we went all out and completely cut the bushes away as we attempted to get some light and warmth into the interior of the downstairs.

Bushes- gone!

The side of the house is barely recognizable without those monster yews in the picture. We got out a push broom and started cleaning up around the area, and were surprised to find a fairly wide concrete path that lead all the way to the driveway.

I can already imagine the kids spending hours in this nice sunny space with sidewalk chalk while we work on the rest of the house. The little planters that used to sit under the yew have been moved to the edge of the stairs, and they're already sprouting some nice healthy sedums for the season.