Just Looking Around plus Changes at Our Home

‘Freedom’ is nigh as our second dose of the vaccine nears!  We’ll be out and about a couple of weeks after our vaccination process is completed…masking as required but with most of our Covid-19 worries behind us.  Most of all we are looking forward to visiting with family and friends after they’re safe, but beyond that just dining out and exploring the countryside, visiting inviting stores, antique shops and historical sites. 

In addition, finally I’ll have a bit more interesting material to work with as I write the posts for my blog site!

But that happy time isn’t here yet…

Laurie took this photo of some old guy wandering down the street… She can be dangerous with that camera!

Along the way, we spotted these daffodils blooming…spring is coming!

Laurie also took the photo of this large grouping of Lenten roses in a neighbor’s front yard.  When we got home I took the second photo of one of our Lenten roses from underneath it…just so I could show how pretty these flowers are.

This construction site is no more than a block away from our house.  The views are stunning but the lot did cost “an arm and a leg!”  As the home is being built into the side of a hill, it will have a lower level too, something that doesn’t happen too often in our neighborhood.  Much of the area is covered with underlying rock which makes excavation difficult.

Laurie took this photo of a boulder in the turnaround circle at the end of the street across from the property shown above.  She spotted an animal’s shape…and I agree with her.  I see it too!  Can you see what we see?  The answer is at the end of this post.

Last year we had some rocks put down on one side of our house complete with a mulched area where we planted 4 bushes.  The area had been bare and ugly, and since it was sloped it was also a drainage problem.  The problem is that the contractor that put it down didn’t put sheeting under the rocks so grass was constantly springing up between them.  The same problem existed between the flat stepping stones plus they weren’t set in the ground and they weren’t stable.  Time to get the problem fixed and improve drainage as well…

A load of rocks, some heavy lifting and a few hours later and the project was finished.  The area to the back and right of the rock work is common ground.

While they were at it, the contractor furnished us with a new stepping stone off the stairs to our back deck.  They also moved our flat stones around to improve safety and appearance.

The next issue involved a notice that we’d received last fall from the one of the inspectors from our POA’s Architectural Control Committee.

Our home and that boulder has been here for 21 years.  The new inspector and his supervisor decided that due to its location it was in violation of the ACC code and that it was a hazard and had to be moved!  For 21 years it was either OK or they weren't doing their job!

I had ignored the notice for months but it was always in the back of my mind.  Micah, one of our lawn service guys was here doing spring clean-up.  We talked about the boulder and he pointed out that this 5 minute job would cost hundreds of dollars if someone had to truck in a piece of equipment to move it 6 feet.  He suggested that we chat with an equipment operator who was working on a new house down the street and see if he would do it as he had the equipment on site.

We asked the contractor if he’d help us out and he agreed.  Laurie moved the rocks that had been in front of it.  When he was done moving the boulder, I asked him what I owed him for the job and he said whatever I felt it was worth.  I gave him $80 and now we don’t have this little problem on my mind.  

The first photo shows what the boulder and its immediate surroundings looked like after it had been moved and Micah and his brother Elijah had redone the landscaping around it.  The second photo shows what it looked like after Laurie and Ella (who weeds for us) had redone the area to match the rest of our frontage along the street and to expand street parking if needed.

Note: That painted yellow stone with the flowers was given to us by our friend Norm...

I decided to close with one more home/yard related issue.  A few weeks ago we noted that this big dead red oak, (just left of center in the photo), in the lot adjacent to our home…was leaning toward the house!  It is covered with tinder fungus/hoof fungus over most of the trunk of the tree…

This parasitic fungus produces large polypore bodies that are shaped like a horse’s hoof.  They grow on the sides of various species of trees, which it infects through broken bark, causing rot.  In this case, the tree has died and the parasite is now a decomposer…further weakening the tree.

The good news for us is that we don’t have to deal with a remote property owner or investment company to deal with this threat to our house.  We had a previous experience with a giant but dead ironwood tree on the same lot…and we’d learned that the property belonged to the POA.  So, I called and the next day 2 inspectors showed up, agreed that it was a hazard and they’ve added the tree to their project list.

Did you decide what that boulder in the 7^th photo resembled?  Laurie and I both agree that it looks like a baby elephant lying down… What do you think?

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave