There’s more than a couple of things I would like to do. Picking a priority list will be the hard part.
There are three significant stumps in the back yard. Two are from evergreens and the stand about 2-3 ft. On is 2-3 inches from a tree in the middle of the yard. These are probably the first generation of trees planted with the house. I’m not sure what to do with the large stumps. The low one will be a target for the composting method. Cover in compost, lay plastic over, cover in mulch, and wait a few months or years.
I wonder about mushrooms and fungi. No searches have yet turned up a link between tree decomp and fungi. However, the Grow Your Own Mushroom kit showed me that they are directly linked. It feels like I should be able to buy a bottle, mat, powder of a tree loving fungi and put it on the stump, saving a lot of time.
There are two bean or pod type trees in the corner. They may go or stay. If my trees are dropping something it should be fruit. This won’t leave the yard treeless.
BTW, I love the size. Half of the back yard is bigger than some yards we saw. Ms. Rebecca thought these houses were built at a time for more affluent families. It shows. There are similarities between this and the incorrect Gainsborough address, which is about 2.5 blocks away. The quality of work is probably also comparable. A note for in the future. Find the smaller, cheaper house in the higher end developments that build large expensive homes. You’ll get the quality of the larger homes w/o the price tag and maybe extras like large house lot sizes, tiles, plumbing, wiring, etc.
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Near the top of the list is taking out the massively overgrown thorny bush in this picture. I would like to put a new compressor over here before Summer. With some part shade loving hedges to shield it.
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Also near the top is restoring the soil in the back yard. I haven’t decided on what to put back here. A house addition to the master and master bath would be easy with a view of a pond, and maybe a hot tub accessible through French doors. Whatever, the soil needs to grow stuff and a lot of it. I’m thinking lay down a couple of types of manure, vermiculite for water retention, and tilling all. There is a lot of dog pooh, though it could be worse. Tilling enriches the soil and “cleans” the pooh.
I want to pull some of the bushes in the front under the bedroom windows and replace with a rose or other flowering thorny bush. Something to provide more definition, security, beauty. The large privacy hedge which is almost shoulder height is great. Makes me feel more secure so near the door and it’s perfectly shaped.
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The oak? tree in this picture will take quite some time to mature. My goal here is to make the little sucker grow as fast as possible. Worm clippings, fertilizers, mulch, hugs and kisses, whatever. He’s got a good form and could be a really excellent tree.
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The storage building needs beautification. I might be able to move him. The roof shows rust and the green color doesn’t blend well right now. The “floor” seems to be simple pavers like Christopher laid at Grandma’s house for July 4th. The is near where I was thinking about a pond.
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Ah, the pond; deep at 3′-4′, irregular shape, water fall, Koi, varying heights, not overly large. This might be a year 2 item. I need to establish slower, larger growing items this year. Trees, and large shrubs. At sale, the house should look junglish, not overgrown, and not hard to maintain. Well cared for and loved are the best adjectives.
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This gazebo is far against the fence and it leans quite a bit. The table and bench could be refinished in a few weeks. The lean can be corrected. The structure is very stable, just very off. Maybe closer into the house would be good too. Actually, this might look great in backdrop of the pond. So, that would be the right place. Needs shade and something to make you go sit there.
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Last year, I spent a lot of time on my patio when the whether was perfect either sleeping or reading. I want a hammock. This might mean the patio this year, but a couple or one large tree planted this year in the southwest corner would work nicely for next year. Two trees already there provide good shade. We’ll see. Also, is that a grapevine against the fence?
Very soon, I will need wood floors in one of the bedrooms. I have been promising myself a yoga/meditation room for 6 months. Carpet sucks; no balance, don’t feel grounded, mushy. It would be great to match the existing floors. Oh, by the way you can see where the board lengths aren’t identical. A 1/8″ or smaller trim board of the same color would erase this problem in a few hours.
The bathrooms are on the list to be updated. Newer tile, washlets, tub(s)?, faucets, sinks?.
The kitchen is on the top of the list to be updated. New appliances first. Then I would like to replace the cabinets by copying the existing ones with a light stain and new countertop. It was disappointing to see electric here. I really want a gas stove, don’t care about the oven. A downdraft countertop stove would let me do away with the existing hood. I think that would make it look nicer. This is another place where a 1/8″ strip of trim board would hide age and imperfection in the cabinets.
Now, if the master and master bath are enlarged it might be very easy to enlarge the kitchen too. I want to maintain the corner sink. A couple more feet would make the kitchen very large and allow for a larger island. Maybe replacing the countertop stove and wall oven with a single oven/stove. The various options here have to be calculated and prioritized.
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Not near the top is turning the living room into a theator. The living room is so dark and surrounding it just lends itself to that. This picture is taken from couch level. Where the ledge and crosses are would be the perfect place from which to hang a screen from the ceiling and shoot a projection TV. Ceiling mount the TV and run the wires straight to it in the attic. No space is surrendered, the focus of the room is maintained, no wires showing, easy to install and maintain.
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I know it seems like I’m going overboard, but this is just a freewriting, brainstorming exercise. All or none of this stuff might get done. When it comes to righting checks I’m very conservative. I want to see something back for the dollar spent. The plan is 6 yr or so here. This should seem like 6 yr of work. Right now, it’s really fun to just dream about what you’re going to get, like we used to do at Christmas and 4th of July.
Two vitally important things are that I love to do this once. A second time or maintenance holds no appeal at all. So, virtually no maintenance is the only way. Otherwise, I will just let it all go no matter the consequences. Mom, has this down pat. Our 313 Cheyenne house looks pretty much like she made it. I remember the disaster that is was when we moved in. One dead mesquito tree stump became a constantly blooming little garden; roses, forsythias, purple plum, and I don’t remember what else.
ed. 2/23/07