landscape part 1

Pulling of the 12 bushes



Landscaper's design:




Candace's landscape design (see above) features boxwood & andromeda in front, lilac out back, hydrangea on the side & all sorts of smaller plants. Based on visits to nursuries, I will probably go with summer snowflake, spirea, honeysuckle in front & use some of Candace's ideas.


Pulling 12 bushes

This yew bush is partly pulled out, if the crooked angle isn't a giveaway. Fred's cable is hooked up to the truck & wrapped around the bush. To pull each bush, it normally took 3-4 good tugs with the truck to get each bush out, roots and all.







Cable loop-ends on tow-hooks:




Wrap cable once or twice around trunk:

Yew bush after being pulled.

Before carting bushes out back I would saw off the roots. After cutting off root ball using 18-inch chain saw:

The bush near front walkway had an enormous trunk (7 inches) & root ball:

Rented wood-chipper ($120 for 4 hrs from Ace Hardware). It was not able to chip the bushes because they were to green and did not fit well in the feed. The 12 bushes are now behind the shed to dry out then I will bring some to the transfer station (they charge $5/cubic yard for yard waste) & probably burn some if I set up a fire pit.


Wood chipper:

lush landscape

Tales of the landscaping consult and borrowing of tomato fences

after the adventures, trees see sunset


Tomato fences on loan from a co worker, Dennis. I went to his place today to grab them, and he also gave me raspberry sprouts, a citrus-y kind of lettuce plant, and hostas.

The 40 minute drive to Dennis's in Haddam was lush and scenic and lilacs everywhere, and halfway along, I passed by a stunning yellow Greek Revival farmhouse. I had never gone this route south of Hebron before today. On 149 in E. Haddam at the Conn. River crossing was a scenic restaurant of an 1890's vintage, that would go well with my red room. http://www.gelstonhouse.com/ Dennis said Gelston House was not all that great, and you'd be better off at Griswold Inn down in Essex which also seems lush with ambience.
http://www.griswoldinn.com/Low_index.htm

But the Gelston did look grand and was next to an opera house of the same vintage.

* * *

I'm still getting to know my yard - I discovered this lilac plant just this morning.

One of Barry and Jill's pet goats and one of their five egg-layers. The goat pen is next to my yard and I have been visiting the goats often.

Can I say I like the new neighbors.

Mulch for garden: Leaves piled up from last fall which I mulched using the mower. For spreading over garden to prevent weeds.

The photo below is my garden as of today. Leaf mulch covers the sunflower area. The black is weed-barrier fabric. Sunflowers and beans have sprouted. Watermelon sprouts from the Hartford Regional Market (6 for $1) are off to the right, tomato plant in foreground. Corn hasn't come up yet.

In front of my house are several yew bushes and an andromeda. I wish to replace the yews. Candace is my landscape consultant and came out from Newington this morning at 9 to have a look and come up with a design for new shrubs in front of house. Last weekend at the Regional Market, Al was selling trees and I told him I was looking for something like andromeda for in front of my house. He said for $125 his service would give me a consultation. Candace works with Al.

Candace said that my yew bushes are healthy but have outlived their aesthetic lives. Those yews are square and boxy as was the style in the 60s. I had to agree. She first suggested replacing them with pointy shrubs on either side of the front door, and other manicured shrubs. I cringed at the idea and said no no I am looking for something fuller, more organic, lush, natural, whimsical. So Candace suggested boxwood and holly, and a small weeping-willow type bush, for starters. She thought my andromeda (bush seen below the large front window) should be taken out because it looks old and too woody, but I disagreed.

My front walkway is narrow, so Candace recommended a wider, curved front walkway that fans out to the driveway. And pulling out the dated shrubs along the driveway. Wholehearted agreement.

Candace will draw up a design plan, and what it would cost. She also thought I should take out the "pom pom" looking forsythias in my back yard. So I am looking forward to hooking a chain to my truck and pulling out many bushes. I will probably rebuild the walkway myself using clay tiles paving stones or something like that. And have Al's do some of the work but depends on cost. I will probably build a patio terraced out behind the deck out back.

light

One thing about my house is, there is no shortage of dramatic light here.


The red room is variously named but mostly called the banjo room. It is a great setting for playing acoustic instruments. Once in a while a few friends and I play guitar, banjo, mandolin, and violin here late into the night.



The room gets afternoon sun. Yesterday, the late afternoon sun came through the window on the left, causing these haunting rays.

The east bedroom, everyone calls the log cabin because of its knotted pine finish. It offers a dreamy view of the sunrise which, this morning, was as enchanting as always:

The living room faces west/northwest. At dusk the recessed lighting reflects in the windows and the orangey reflections complement the purple blue sky. Orange and blue are complementary colors.


There are no home projects currently. This spring will include tiling the upstairs shower, enlargening the garden, sealcoating the driveway. If I have the energy, possibly recessed halogen lighting in the kitchen, and putting an opening in the wall between kitchen and living room. If I can save a few pennies, a white pergola over the deck.

shadow forest spirits

Sunflowers Dec 27


Connecticut fog, my back yard
becomes a deep, surreal landscape
yet playful

ethereal sunset

soundless

_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_

inside...

the Living room floor is still a mess but the walls are grand

Above the door to kitchen, I installed a mantelpiece-style molding, with crown molding flaring outward.

before molding (door to kitch on left), I took this photo of paint swatches & loose wiring. You can see that the door to kitchen originally had no molding

crown & door moldings, final!

cutting chair rail using compound-miter saw.

Cutaway of new door molding was needed for light switch. It works for me, I think it somehow makes the house look older.

switch plate installed. You can see how I cut the right side to blend into door molding.

light switches & wall repair. The wall repair was because there was only one switch before, & I had to widen hole.

drywall cutout in shape of hole around switch box, for reparing wall cut

cutting door side molding, to fit light switch

wall repair at a location where I split wiring to go to various rows of

recessed lights

angle view showing flared-out crown molding around door to kitchen, a 3-weekend project:

front door, closet, glimpse of chair rail up stairs

Rosette over front door corner. Georgian molding on left side of front door. Crown-molding corner half-finished.

Crown molding piece installed:

Brittania Blue, runner-up color. It is the warmest blue I could come up with but still not warm nuff.

before trying blue, experimenting with earth tones. Around October.

original room with front-door trim pulled off

happy pretty snow

looks like we're getting an inch

wilted sunflowers

unreachable apples remain on the tree

sneak preview of living room, showing hepplewhite ivory against white trim. actually the white is peach tinted. still a couple weeks from finished.