Having come on this thread late, I take a different approach. I accept the OP wanted to photograph a part of his life and a view from his life. And that he wanted to share it with others, us. I can accept that and the photograph. I like the fact he has black and white in the photo. Important. I can see both the foreground and the background, as both are sufficiently infocus. I can see what he sees when he is there; I can be there too. The composition is OK. The only nit I then have is the house being split by a plant in the foreground. I think somebody already mentioned that. It may not be fixable without changing his view in a way he doesn't like. The more I look at the photo, the more I start to like it. If I were the OP, I would probably have it on my office wall.
For the opposite of the above, I don't like the second shot. The background is too oof, and now too close (granted I am judging it against the first to an extent). There is also no real blacks nor whites. That is an important element in b/w photos. To me, this isn't a wall-hanger.
Just my 2 cents.