New Fence and Steps

Very nearly done is my big outdoor project of the summer. Jumpstarted by losing The Big Spruce, I decided there was little point in planting things that were going to get eaten by deer. So a project I had mulled for a few years got moved forward to do this year. I had tall, but open, fencing added to the front and side, so now slightly less than half my yard is fenced. It is deer resistant, but I can't guarantee deer proof.  But I did see a large deer walk along the outside of the fence, look sadly through it at me inside, then go over to my neighbor's house instead. Works for me!

At the same time, I had my front steps and walks improved, and my retaining wall on the corner repaired (snow plows are very unkind to my corner wall). The walks had deteriorated significantly - primarily from roots of the spruce, so this is an opportune time to make them better. Still to be finished is the railing for the front steps.

The spring when most of the fence work was done was very wet, and the trampling and dirt and debris was worse than I thought it would be. So now, I have a sheltered but traumatized area that needs significant gardening. I have plans, but now isn't the right time to do this. Planting happens in the fall. I'm trying to decide whether I'll hire much of this - that depends on energy and money left, after the more costly basement reno.

Here are pictures, roughly in chronological order.

Of course, I can't find a purely "before" pic!

Side posts in place

Because of the weather, there was lots of time with lumber and other stuff just lying around.

Side posts

This is where the spruce was rooted - I bought a "pre-planned deer resistant native-plant garden" and put it here.

Wildflowers
3 Lavender Hyssop 
5 Nodding Pink Onion 
5 Prairie Onion 
2 Columbine 
2 Butterflyweed for Clay
2 Cream False Indigo 
4 Prairie Blazingstar 
2 Smooth Penstemon
3 Ohio Goldenrod

Grasses
4 Prairie Dropseed

Area: 50 sq ft (10' x 5')

Soil: Well drained sandy-loam, loam, clay-loam

Light: Full sun

Can hardly see "No Outlet". The top layer of the wall is now mortared.

Finished fence and gate, looking towards street.

Looking towards street

I also had the side path re-done, higher and firmer. Re-used all the stones.

Gate by the kitchen entrance

This is the utility part that was fenced (with chain link) before

Lots of raw dirt that needs organic matter

New walk to existing porch

Steps and railing from street. Old steps were overgrown, and the railing right on the steps took up additional space. So the same width as I started with, but looks much bigger.

Signs of Summer

A week ago I saw my first fireflies and bats of the year.  Now we’re surrounded by fireflies, and the air  is dog-breath.

Last Frost to Nineties in Record Time

This last week saw several days above ninety degrees, without hardly passing through spring. This spring, I had a mental cutoff of needing to be above fifty in the morning before I would consider riding the scooter. This week was really the first shot at it. She started right up, and I got several commutes in. Just for the record, we started this season at about 1100 miles total.

Meanwhile, around the yard, things have been moving along. With the Big Spruce gone, things will be different, so many of these pictures are primarily to remind myself of what things look like. I'm also planning to have a fence put in, to keep the deer out of part of the space, and that will be a big improvement.

Apple blossoms

I want to move most of this stuff before the steps get replaced

Where the spruce used to be

Green and Gold is doing well on the steep bank

Pussytoes also doing well

I'm about ready to do without azaleas, but the white one was really nice this morning. 

Basement Reno

Back in 2014, several years ago I grandly decided it was the "year of the basement". I was going to get my stuff out of the basement and really fix it up. Well, here I am, having made minimal progress - mostly having gotten rid of books. The basement was lined with ikea bookshelves, and the accumulation of a lifetime as a reader before kindles. I was ruthless getting rid of them, and they went to the large local library bookstore. I personally delivered about a dozen bags over three years, and there are another dozen now ready to go.  I also went through many boxes of papers - some dating to college days - and purged extensively. Did you know that bank statements used to come on paper, showing your social security number?

Big room with stuff jammed in the end

More stuff in the larger bedroom

I was able to get six interior doors (removed from the main floor and for unknown reasons stashed down there) hauled off to the dump by my brother-in-law. Progress!

The little bedroom, gutted

But I realized I'm just not going to do this all. I have little appetite for spending time down in the basement, and even less for toting things out, and taking them to the dump or to be donated. Another big barrier was figuring out what could be donated where, and I hate to throw away perfectly good things. So, I've hired a project manager. So far, I've hired him for "Phase 1" - getting stuff out of the basement and then gutting it. He's made arrangements with a de-cluttering firm, and a contractor, and things are happening!

The first bit of progress goes really fast!  We can start to see what we are dealing with.

The plan is to create one or two legal bedrooms down there by creating an egress - basically, a big window with a ladder in the window well. This is truly a basement - the window in the pictures are in sunken window wells, below ground level. But there is already a full bath down there, so I'm going to fix up the whole place, including doing the bathroom nicely. This will enhance the value of my little 2-bedroom house, whenever I decide to sell. And, if I stay, I could have a very nice guest / room-mate suite. Because it will not be a separate entrance, and there will not be a kitchen, this is no AirBnB candidate. But I see constant postings in various places for young people who have unpaid or lowpaid short term internships looking for places to stay, and I could see me doing that. Something slightly less than total strangers coming into my house.

This window will get bigger and have a ladder

But there is a very long road to go down to get there. My current plan is to gut the place, (or more correctly have the place gutted as I don't intend to do the work) inspect the walls and foundations for settling or water damage, and then figure out what's next.

Spring Plowing

I'm thrilled with the possibilities of the extra light from losing the Norway spruce. But, normal maintenance has to happen as well.  I can only get anything done on weekends, and that has to be squeezed in with other things, chores and amusements both. But I'm getting stuff done.

Before and after on the raised bed

Last weekend was the Northern Virginia Native Plant sale, and I got some trilliums and some hibiscus, and a fern, and some other stuff. Most of it actually got planted right away.  So far this weekend, I've cleaned up the back raised bed and mowed the grass on the back and side, first mowing. It really needed it!

 I hope to get to either Behnkes or at least Takoma Park farmer's market to get the crops in tomorrow. I've done all the prep.

Before and after on the mowing of the side yard.

Tree is Gone

This was done last Monday.

Norwegian Wood

March really did come in like a lion. March 2 brought a strong nor'easter, snow to New England, and Big Wind to Maryland. I woke around three in the morning to the beginning of the roaring, but turned over and went back to sleep. I woke later to be bemused by the news the government offices were closed due to the wind - a snowless snow day, the only one this year I think. As it turns out, I wasn't planning to be at work anyway - I had a doctor's appointment, and a lot of annoying administrative things to take care of. So through the wind off to the doctor's office, which was open and functioning. Before I left to come home, however, the phone rang with my helpful across the street neighbor, "I thought you'd like to know your big pine tree came down".

As it turns out, it was my last remaining Norway spruce, a real specimen tree. But in some form of a miracle, it just hit a glancing blow to the roof and gutter. No wires, entirely on my property, a bear to get taken out, but in the words of my stoic Norwegian people, "It's not so bad. It coulda been worse."  It will be thousands to remove - but because it is not on my house, it is likely insurance will not pay to have it removed. Coulda been worse - it could actually be on my house.

Welcome Home, Me!

Look at the size of the roots! and the hole!

Rocky is ready to get going.

Aerial View - it totally fills the yard

I think I'll need all new gutters and downspouts

Implements of self-help

I continue to wonder how it actually missed the house

Seventy feet long, more than 2' diameter

Grazed the house, no broken windows

From the other end of the yard

Need gutters, will have roof inspected, but the house seems fine.

Will open up new gardening opportunities

Me and my tree. I've made my peace with it.