Help me with my backyard

[ides]

Thanks Polyanna. I'm not sure the backyard is very safe for O to play in as is. I hadn't thought about it much since it just looks like dirt but Dh has been walking around back there & keeps finding chunks of broken glass & big ant nests/holes. Ugh. Maybe we'll just keep it off limits. It sucks to have a yard you can't use though. Not pleased.

[scrub-jay]

I know I'm late to the party, but we have a similar situation, but we don't have the dust you do. We really wanted grass for our dd to play in, but our ll is not interested in investing much. So we bought grass seed and scraped in down with a rake and watered it. It is looking pretty good (I mean, not landscaped, weed-free like our neighbors... but we don't have the dirt and remnants of woodchips/rocks/weeds that we once did. This option takes a lot of watering though, so it may not be feasible for you (or legal depending on water restrictions). If not, you could buy an outdoor "rug" (they are made of a plastic) and set up a small pool/sandbox/water table on it for O to play with occasionally.

[MDPhDWife]

There are watering restrictions here! Honestly, I would just leave it, especially since you're only here for a year. It's not worth the headache. Maybe take O to one of the nearby parks? Did you decide on swimming lessons?