Looks great! My projects are simply weeding and getting plants in the ground!

Looks great! What grass sod are you thinking of?

catkin - those were my planned projects! :-)

purslanegarden - We'll probably use the same company as did the laying of the sod in 1999 after we bought and renovated this place. (They are actually neighbours across the fence, behind 'the wet corner'!) So we'll use whatever grass they normally use - I think it's some kind of fescue-based mix. (Lawn grass details don't interest me much :-)

Maybe it's just too shady for grass to grow well. Looks like you're so close to going mower-free!

How about moss?...or a sedge.

OK, don't faint, but recently, I have been seeing more and more artificial lawns - especially amongst dog owners...and blow me but they look OK. Far, far better than the old astro-turf I had been used to seeing on sports pitches. And the dogs seem to enjoy it hugely too - although if I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would be deep in scoffing mode right now.
I have been astonished...despite being completely predisposed to hate the idea.

They feel nice too, especially in bare feet...and dog 'flowers' are easily hosed away.

With that huge shade tree + dogs, if you want green, artificial turf won't hurt at all! You just get a blower and blow the falling leaves off it. We have a fake grass putting green, but it is in full sun, and is hotter than concrete in full sun. Here is a link to the build: https://www.pinterest.com/dances4wins/~highlands-putting-green/ That is for a professional job, and I'm sure you could do it yourself, but some of their steps are important.

LOL Camp. (and Suzi)- I think I had a fainting episode just now.... :-) I'll wait to see what the quote re the sodding is... Artificial would certainly be a last resort I think. I've racked my brain trying to think of a viable alternative to grass - and concluded that lawns are made from grass for a reason!

Ha! Sit yourself down and watch a few dozen episodes of "Landscape Crashers," on HGTV! Most people with dogs opt for the fake grass. Not sure why, but it is what it is. Grass doesn't like shade?

I don't have a suggestion for as far north as you are, besides where your thoughts have already gone. Love your yard, BTW, and its' harmony with your cute dogs!

Good luck getting it like-you-like-it!

Every time I see a picture of your shade garden I think how lovely and serene it looks :) It's probably a madhouse with the pups racing around which by the way are real cuties.
Looks can be deceiving, right behind the back fence where my 'peaceful looking' garden room is there's a 4 lane highway LOL.
Annette

Annette - I'm sure you need a 'peaceful looking' garden if you're coping with/hiding a 4-lane highway! It can be a bit of a madhouse when there's a few beasts tearing around - but it's fun too! We're dog-sitting the young Collie mix/mutt again this weekend. On morning walkies we ran into a neighbour with his lovely purebred collie. It was love at first sight for Inky and Reilly! So we brought them back here to let them play. (Cole was miffed because they totally ignored him!) Some pictures:

Racing Collies

on the path in front of 'the wet corner'

it's MY toy!

Woody, we're down to one kitty now we lost our little Cairn Terrier a couple of years ago. Over the years we've had a few breeds all living to a ripe old age German Shepard, German Shorthair Pointer, Labs, Doberman and my first, a little Pom cross who lived to the ripe old age of 21. It's just got too hard saying goodbye so we have decided not to have another dog. We do get to babysit our son's two when he's up north working on the ice roads in the winter, life can be rather hectic with those two at times.
Seeley and Jay having a quiet moment.

Annette - does your pond garden area have a burbling water feature of some sort to provide 'white noise' to offset traffic noise? That's an often-recommended addition in situations like that and I wonder how well if works...?

Cute doggie pair! What breed is the little one? 21 is an amazing age for a dog. Our last dog, a Lhasa Apso rescued dog, lived to 16 and we thought that was pretty good, but 21 beats that hands down!

Woody, just the trickling from the spillway in the pond but also the sound of the water running through a biological filter in a nearby shed. Have a couple of wind chimes up there but if it's breezy enough to hear them I'm usually in the house LOL.
When we first moved here in 1965 it was only a two-way highway, when they widened it to a 4-way they also raised it a couple of feet, noisey. Then the Parkway bypass was built which took a lot of the traffic going past away for a couple of years, now it's just as noisey if not noisier then it ever was, it's amazing how you can block the noise out, that is until you try talking to each other, maybe sign language is the way to go :).

Out the front just across the road, just a few steps from our front door is a little nature park, trees and a little river (really just a stream) running through it, walking paths and a little lookout, lovely place to go and sit with a cup of coffee. Not a great picture as it was taken in November.
On the far side you can spot native orchids, trillium and sometimes shooting stars amongst other wildflowers in season. Putting up with the highway noise is a small price to pay, there's no way I'd ever move, love it.

Woody forgot to answer your question, the little one in the picture is a Jack Russell. My little Pom x was given to me when I was 8, 21 year later I was married, 3 kids. It was a sad day when we had to say goodbye to our little 'Lucky'.

JRTs are feisty little cuties! :-) It sounds like both you and your little Pom x were lucky together! It would indeed be a deeply sad day when you had to say good-bye to a loyal friend who shared so much of your life.

And putting up with some traffic noise would probably be worth it for that view! It's relatively easy to 'filter out' noise that is always part of the background I think. I lived near train tracks for a few years in university many years ago. Train whistles and the rumble of the train cars passing by drove me crazy - particularly at night - for the first week or two. After that my brain figured out that I didn't need to be aware of the noise, unless it was different than usual, so I just didn't hear it anymore other than being remotely aware of it in a background 'white noise' kind of way. Has the traffic noise faded like that for you?

Woody, after 50 years I don't even notice it until I look over and see DH has been trying to say something to me, or is it after being married to this wonderful guy for 59 years I just tune him out, I'm almost positive he tunes me out, he'll say you never told me..... LOL.
Annette