As the byline in the title of this blog says "From the Mundane to the Less Mundane with Everything In Between", I feel obligated to show you even my least favorite things we are committed to do as land owners. Our outdoor projects usually wait until fall when we return from the condo and this year is no exception. Below are the jobs we've been tackling this fall so far.
Our beautiful, old, red, Japanese Maple caught some sort of fungal infection that was rotting off all its branches so it had to go. The sprawling apple behind it was totally out of control.
Our back yard looked pretty good to me, although some would say it was more than "a little jungle-like". The vegetation was really taking over and crowding the pool.
A juvenile oak was blocking the view and light in the garden so its "goodbye oak".
Other black locusts and stringy looking maples were creating a look of overgrown havoc.
This is a panorama of the back yard BEFORE.
Oops! Heavier than it looks!
"This way out!"
The Japanese maple was now beyond the point of no return.
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Wow, you can see the side yard again with the oak gone.
It always amazes me how much can be achieved with a trailer and a small electric chain saw. Look how green everything is for this time of year. We've had lots of rain. Usually the grass is brown by now.
We continued to pile the trailer high with brush and eventually finished 2 trips to the dump. I slept well that night with more than a little back pain and stiffness the next morning.
Now, with the foliage gone, the fence was fully visible and showed that at least one post was leaning over, pushed by the rocks as everything on the side of the hill makes its inevitable and eventual voyage to the bottom, assisted by Earth's gravity.
Before we could straighten the fence, we had to move some pretty big rocks. Tim jr. and I managed to wrestle the biggest one back up, away from the fence.
The Fence BEFORE.
At Home Depot I bought some channel shaped metal stampings called "Simpson EZ Menders". These, according to a you Tube video are the answer to repairing rotted off fence posts instead of digging them out. Worth a try.
The fence AFTER.
The fence looks much better and I must say the yard looks bigger with the trees gone, but I think I will miss them for their beauty and shade. There's lots left to do around here but that's' a couple of tough jobs we've finished.
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