Yard, Flowers

Pics of yard and flowers...

Yucca bloomed!  Doesn't happen every year.

The tomatoes are growing fast after finally getting planted a few weeks ago.

I dug this up.  It was probably lost while the house was built 37 years ago.

I spread seeds from flowerheads last Fall in the pollinator bed.  They grew like crazy.  

Apparently, they like the spot...

Cllose-up...

The daylillies are blooming...

And the hydrangeas are still blooming.

The Stokes Asters are still blooming after 20+ years.

But fewer this year.  I should divide and refresh them.

The new butterfly weed has returned again for a 3rd year.  I planted 6 once, but this one loves the spot and keeping showing up.

And there are more coming along in the yard and deck.  But they are not in full bloom yet, so I will wait to show them. 

Meanwhile, I have a Fall crop of flat italian beans emerging for Fall harvest. Need to plant snow peas, broccoli and garlic soon.

Surprises, And Not Good Ones

This is becoming a really difficult few weeks.  Some of which I have mentioned, but it is worth listing all of  it (and positively noting that none are matters of life and death)...

First, I got the riding mower back from the repair shop after a month with only half the work I THOUGHT I was getting done.  Granted, they didn't try to charge me for what they didn't do, but they wanted another 3 weeks to get to get at it, so I passed.  I CAN actually change the oil and filter and sharpen the blades (the undone work) myself but its a pain and they could have done it so easily while they had it.  I had even called them later in the day I brought it to them to confirm it was on the repair list (they said yes).

Second, the monsoon damage (6"+ of sudden rain) Monday flooding the drainage easement.  When I moved here almost 33 years ago, I knew my new street was at the bottom of a large sloped neighborhood, but it seemed that the drainage was well-managed with drainage easements and storm drains.  I was wrong.  Also, I was not aware that property owners were responsible for the drainage easement further than 6' from the storm drains.

Storms usually bring tree debris down that covers the storm drain grate.  That can be removed easily sometimes, and the County willingly does it when stuff is all wedged together and called about it.  This time was different.  For reasons I do not know, cubic yards/meters of clay and gravel flowed down the easement for the first time ever.  The storm drain grate was entirely covered with it.

The easement itself (which WAS almost 2' deep) is entirely filled to lawn level with gravel about 20' upslope and most of that is NOT County responsibility.  I spoke to my neighbor about it (we are co-responsible for the easement maintenance).  I have no idea what it would cost and return the easement to full functionality.  My neighbor is upset because they are they are nearly broke.  I can legally enforce shared costs, but I'm not looking forward to having to fight about it.  But if it isn't dredged, future storms will make matters worse and they care less about their yard than I do.

Third, the monsoon damage again. My basement got soaked an inch.  The builder did poor work on the sunken patio originally (no drainage), and I've had water in the basement several times over the years.  I learned after the first time that if I dug a 4' deep ditch through the lawn downslope, all was well.  But those fill in over time and I usually redig it each year before hurricane season.

We are getting heavier rains here earlier each year and I waited too long.  Climate change is real.  The last Spring frost of the year is about a day earlier each couple years and the first frost in Fall is later.  The first heat wave of the year  comes sooner and occurs later too.

I need to at least bury some perforated drainage pipe along the lawn edge of the patio and attach it to solid drainage pipe emptying into the lower front lawn.  But it always seems there is something more immediately to do.  So I didn't do it earlier this year or last year.

The basement was a real mess!  This time I had a lot of boxes on the floor.  The stuff like lawn fertilizer have plastic bags inside, so they weren't damaged, but I had some boards standing up against walls, cardboard boxes I was planning to use to store books while the computer room going to be changed from 32 year old carpet to linoleum.  And Iza likes to poop outside the litter boxes, so that was a real mess.

I used the wet/dry shop vac to suck up most of the water and moved the litter boxes to dry area where Iza wouldn't "go" is the wet spots.  Today, it dried enough for me to scrape the cement floor of all the kicked-out scoopable litter and poops.  I love Iza dearly, but pooping in the litter boxes is not one of the things she does best...

After that, I mopped the whole litterbox area with soapy water, mopped it with clean water, and sucked up the remaining water with the shop vac.  It wasn't a thrill.  I rinsed out the mop frequently in the laundry tub, but it wasn't exactly dry,  and I don't have a mop-wringer tub so I had to squeeze the mop dryish by hand.

I should mention that I was the oldest child at 15 when my younger sister was born.  I changed a LOT of diapers.  And that was when you had to slosh soiled cloth diapers around in the toilet before you could even put them in the bucket the diaper cleaning truck came by to pick them up for professional cleaning.

Fourth, monsoon damage again.  I had a masonry repair company estimator here today.  Here is what he told me after investigating all the broken cinder blocks and spaces around it...

The wall is a "retaining wall" (there is soil filled in behind it).  A retaining wall should be set outside of the cement slab and 3' deep so that water pressure cannot push it in.  The top caps need special  grout to help hold the top solid.  My retaining wall was built ON the cement slab and the tops were attached with regular grout.

He said the entire 2 1/2 sides needed to be removed, a 3' deep trench dug outside the cement slab, and that there was rebar involved and removal of the old cinderblocks.

Quick estimate - $15,000

And I should have a drain installed to prevent future basement next to the sliding glass doors $2,300.

I said no way!  I could have my failing asphalt driveway removed, the foundation rebuilt and pounded solid, and a new concrete driveway installed for that.  I have an estimate for that...

I asked about just forcing the existing cinder block wall force back into place, using construction adhesive against the broken edges and bolting a 2"x10" board or serious metal bar on top.

He said he wouldn't do that as a professional and that his insurance company wouldn't warranty the work if he did.

I thanked him for coming by to explain all that and that I understood his reasons for not doing some cheap patchwork and that I might be back in touch because the repair does really have to be done.  I might add that contractors generally hate being the first ones on site because the customer learns things about what to ask the next estimator.  And it's true...  I learned a lot.

So after he left, I decided to see if I could lever the broken wall parts back in place.  There are 2 6"x6" wooden deck support posts in the patio set 3' deep and surrounded by 2' wide in cement.   I found a 4"x4" post that straddled them, and a 4x4 post that just reached  cinderblock wall.  I figured that with the right angle of leverage, I might be able to push the broken parts back in place after liberally covering the broken edges with construction adhesive.  That stuff is stronger than the grout used between cinder blocks so it ought to hold.

I understand how levers work most effectively.  The longer the lever, the more force is applied.  I set 4x4 posts up as efficiently as possible.  I couldn't move the wall at all!  30 minutes work at 92F and 95% humidity and pulling as hard as I could left me exhausted and drenched in sweat.  I may take the car jack and see if I can get some better force tomorrow.

If that doesn't work, I think I will find some less-perfectionist company to suggest something less expensive.

I have several home renovation projects in mind.  But given the numerous ones and these new problems, I think I might be better off combining them into a large list and hiring a general contractor.  I did that once and the total cost was about half of the estimated costs from individual contractors.  The downside of that is that I need to empty whole rooms (and OMC the cluttered basement!) at the same time (almost like moving out)...

I wish I had had the nerve to move away 5 years ago...  Maybe I should consider that again and leave it as a fixer-upper.  I get offers in the mail every day.

Annoyed

Well, I'm a bit depressed today.  I've lived here 30 years, improved the property, improved my gardening area, and I gain NOTHING!  Because every year, the neighbors' trees bordering my property grow taller and cut out more sunlight. 

If I had known those trash saplings of 2 feet 30 years ago would grow to massive shady sunlight-sucking monsters 50' tall by now, I would have mowed them dead!  I have asked the neighbors' if I could pay to have the tall trees replaced with fancy flowering smaller ones.  They say "no" because they like the shade.  Hint, hint; on the east and south sides THEY DON'T GET ANY SHADE FROM THOSE TREES!  But they are oblivious to that.  "Just saying NO" is easier.

So last year, after the gardening season was over, I looked at new homes on the internet.  I would like an open house layout with rooms defined vaguely by 30" high walls (all the better to put plants on). and a large enough property so that trees can't block the sunlight in some 40'x40' garden.

I visited some open lands.  They were all corners of farmland being sold off for cash, with working farmland next door.  Well, if you don't know what farmland fertilizer and/or a horse stable smells like all Spring and Summer; *I* do!

So that idea was a failure.

Last week, I looked for existing houses on 1-3 acres of rural land away from farms.  I found 5 that looked good.  Within a day, I learned that 2 were under contract for sale, 1 had a fussy homeowners association controlling almost anything you can image, and 2 were still available.

I visited those 2 houses with a realtor agent today.  Gosh, photographs can be deceptive.  Both were 3 bedroom/2 baths and 3-5 acres. 

The first, pictured here, was great inside.  Lots of great features inside, nice interior, high wood beam ceilings, a kitchen island with an induction cooktop, granite counters, large rooms, 2 car garage (in my case that would be 1 car and 1 boat), dual fireplaces (right in the center of the house), etc.  The basement was chopped into small rooms ( I want a workshop).  But mostly, the back 2 acres fell right into a ravine practically straight out the back door.  No chance for gardening there.  The house is basically like a Monopoly Hotel sitting on a baseball cap (good front visor, nothing behind).

So we went to the other house.  An acre wide and 5 acres deep.  The backyard was sunny ("gardeny").  And it was flat further back, so I could get for open space cutting down some trees.  Nice toolshed.  The upper interior was cramped but more space than I have now.  The basement was large; plenty of room for woodworking equipment.  

But it stank of mildew and showed water damage.  The reason was obvious when I looked under the deck.  The foundation is crumbling from long-term rain exposure.  The backyard drains TOWARD the house.  Whoever leveled the terrain originally should be drawn and quartered!  There were chunks of foundation spalled off from water damage.  Looking back into the basement, it became obvious the basement had been routinely flooded and the owners had tried a cheap paint job to cover it up.

Both properties were being sold for $350,000 in a rural area with well water and septic fields.

The realtor pair with me had never shown the properties previously and were dismayed by the problems I pointed out.  They seemed genuinely upset.  To the point were they took pictures of the problem areas and even noted some they found themselves ( a water-stained ceiling tile, for example). 

I'm sure that won't stop them from selling either place to anyone who wants them; that IS their job.  But they WERE surprised at what they saw.  I'll bet both places drop below $300,000 very soon. 

For someone who never bought a used house (and only my current one new-built) I sem to have a knack for discovering evidence of problems.  I noticed some other tricks the homeowners tried.  One front door rubbed hard on the carpet, yet there was no wear showing.   That meant the carpet was new.  So when I rapped on the carpet, the subfloor didn't sound solid.  That meant rain-damage through the roof.  Sure enough, there was discoloration in the ceiling above.  It had been re-painted and poorly, so you could see the spot if you knew to look. 

So my search continues.  A rambler on a basement on an open yard.  That's all I ask.  Looks like I will be staying here another year, though I will continue to check the listing "just in case".

Bad as my sunlight is, I refuse to move in the middle of Winter or in the middle of gardening season.

My plan is to buy a house, move, then clean/repaint/renovate the existing house.  I can have 2 for a few months because the current one is paid off so there is no expense holding it for sales prep.

But I'm sure not going to move unless I like the house better and I can garden better!!!