A VISION FOR ALL TIME
This property and home is so rich in history --- I have been fascinated with all the wonderful things life has offered its occupants, including us! Every room has a wondrous story to tell, and sipping tea or coffee on the portico, is one my favorite retreats.
Baby Steps
We moved the refrigerator and found this really cool pass through. On the corner, I found the carved brick from the original owners. What a moment! I searched every brick trying to find out something new about the house. Rummaging through the barn, I found a crate of old tiles -- these are tiles from the early 1900s. I was so excited they matched the tone of the family room that I added this historic charm to the built-in cabinet. Some glass-paned doors helped the family room become contained -- you know, all the laughter drifting upstairs!
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Water
First up was to protect the water on the property -- in so many ways. We replaced all the appliances with high-efficiency, low water-use models. I watched Tim and his friends build this aerator to help keep the pond healthy for the stocked fish, and many species of frogs. We are worked with a water quality specialist to reshape the pond and introduce native plants to help with runoff.
Garden Beds Reworked
The next thing to tackle were all the weeds -- they love us here! What kind of solutions could we employ without using poison? We did lots of research and found some helpful products. This required several purchases: a new tractor, leaf & hay raker (yes, that's my official name for it), steel rakes, sharp cutting tools for pruning trees & bushes, chainsaw, leaf blowers, leaf and bush trimmer, pressurized sprayer (this is another one of my made up tools), and herbicide sprayer. I have hand weeded every garden bed to remove many of the resilient plants -- and although they are far from being perfect, they are so much more manageable. I love the mix of perennials, herbs and flowering trees.
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TREES
Mulberry River Birch Red Maple Plum (ornamental) Tulip Oak Black Walnut Weeping Cherry Weeping Willow Peach Crab apple (white and red) Green apple Olive (uh oh - these are invasive) Locust (thorny, but fantastic white blooms) Ornamental evergreens |