This weekend has been loaded with transitions as we’ve become empty nesters again. I’m thrilled for Son who headed off for his final years of college, yet I’m experiencing a real mixed bag of emotions. To combat the funk, we decided to re-enter the empty nest stage with a fun splurge:  Our new hot tub was delivered a few days ago!

I’ve written of the garden-by-the-side-of the-garage before. It’s a small area of grass bordered by plants that was gated off by Coppertop’s original owners as a dog yard. They protected the raised beds of vines, peonies, delphinium, catmint, and other perennials there from dog damage by using black wooden slat barriers/supports, most of which I’ve removed. The dog yard had been fully enclosed by sturdy, but not so attractive, black aluminum chain link fencing and two gates. We’ve known we didn’t want to maintain this as a dog yard since our beagle has free range of Coppertop. There are some lovely plants in this small garden, and it’s an area with one of the best views of the Cascades. It’s near fragrant vines and flowers, and is tucked away from sight, around a corner, against a hill.

Hubby has worked long and hard in the last couple of weeks to prepare an area of the small garden for the spa. The ground is sloped, which added to the fun of making everything level for the hot tub!

Next, he dug a trench for the electrician to do the wiring and hook-up via the electrical boxes in the garage. One peony bush was temporarily displaced.

We’ve enjoyed the spa every evening since its installation. It’s one we owned before — HotSprings — and we love the features that help give a relaxing soak the extra oomph. Son happily tried out every combination of lights and jets before his departure.

I’ll relocate the purple clematis in the photos since a portion of the fence that partially blocks the views is coming down. This evening we soaked at dusk and watched as the New Dungeness Lighthouse began shining its nightly beacon. Then there are those twinkling stars…