A Start

The Apple House has a one acre yard. That, my friends, is a lot of yard.

It seems like an overwhelming amount of yard when you consider that it has been neglected for many many years.

Well, when faced with an overwhelming project, the only way to tackle it is to break it down into smaller bits, so that is what we have done.  We've got a start on our veggie garden, I'll show you more of that when there is something other than dirt to show you.

Next on the list was the steep slope from the back deck down to the back yard.  For some reason in the 33 years this house has stood no one ever bothered to dig steps out of this steep slope.  We have been braving the trail that had been worn there over years and years of use, and all of us have slid down it more than once.

(Sorry I don't have any before pictures of it - the above photos were taken last fall and today was the kind of day that you don't stop to go back for your camera once you get going.)

So, with this picture in mind for inspiration.  

Isn't this stunning!  I love succulents.

John Henry and I got started.

First we dug out the steps.  That alone was a major improvement.  We can now walk down this slope without the fear of death.

Then we weeded, and weeded, and weeded some more, and YES, this is the AFTER shot.  There's still a lot to go.

Last Saturday we went to help some friends reclaim their once beautiful but long neglected yard at their new home.  They have many large patches of "chicks and hens" and different stone crops.  As payment, I filled up a small box.  You couldn't even tell I had been there.  (Did I mention that I love succulents?)

John Henry and I planted away.

It doesn't look like much now, but I'm hopeful that as these wonderful, amazing little plants take hold and begin to spread that they will keep the stairs from eroding away and make them look beautiful.

John Henry has declared this "his" garden and very happily used his new little watering can to gently water the new baby plants.  It's a good thing that succulents don't really need much care or attention, or I would be worried about this garden.  As it is, I think John Henry will be the perfect gardener for a succulent garden.  Even if he pulls the plants out I just have to tuck them back in and they start to grow again.  :)

Oh, and L.  don't be surprised if you see me out in your yard harvesting another box full of plants.  We still have the bottom half of the stairs yet to go.

Can you find us???

The first thing that my friend Sonya and I learned when we first came to look at the Apple House was that it was HARD TO FIND.  My GPS was about a mile off and while Sonya's iPhone got us in the right vicinity we still couldn't see the house.  Lucky for us there was a group of goofy teenagers playing basketball at a home near where the iPhone said the house was.  We took our chances and asked them:

me: "Hey, do you guys know where number 88 is?"
super smart teen boy (with a grin):  Well, this is number 87, so it's gotta be close!"

there is not another house that can even be seen from where we are.

me: "OK, super smart teen, then where is the log house around here?"
sstb (points across the street) "in that orchard, way back there."

Thank you sstb who is now my neighbor.  I appreciate your help and I'm sure you appreciate me as a source of entertainment.

The Apple House has a driveway that is about 200 yards long.  You can not see it from the road at all, as it very literally is in the middle of a huge orchard.   This became a problem in our first week here as we had deliveries (minor things, you know, like internet modems and preschool paper work) coming to the house almost every day and people had a hard time finding the place, especially in the dark.

SOLUTION:

Give the people something to look for!

 This was the sad state of our mailbox when we arrived.  It is a quirky thing, obviously home built.  More on that later.  Link thought we should replace it, but I kind of liked it and told him to give me a crack at it first.

Goodbye newspaper tube!  John Henry and I scraped and sanded the old paint and lettering off of it, and then covered the cool old wood.  We didn't want to mess with that!

HELLO!  A couple of coats of chartreuse paint and we are getting easier to find all ready!

Next I dry brushed the entire thing lightly with red to give it some age and depth, painted the flag red, added the appropriate numbers and a sign with our name on it made from one of the old shingles off of the house.  John Henry and I also collected large rocks from around the area and dry stacked them around the base to strengthen it and also to cover up the white PVC pipe that is holding it in place.  Last, we added a small solar power light to up light it.

Now when people come to visit we tell them "Look for the apple green mailbox with our name on it and turn into the orchard there."  No one has had a problem finding us since!

One more fun fact.  While I was painting, our neighbor (sstb's father) came over to meet us.  He told us that the previous owner had, in fact, built the mail box.  It is constructed of iron and probably weighs 70-80 lbs.  He had done it after loosing his mail box one too many times to baseball bat toting teenagers in a pick-up truck.  Our neighbor also came up with his own solution.  He had what appears to be a normal looking mailbox, but the inside of it is partially filled with concrete.  He told us it was a satisfying night not long after they were both installed when he was awoken by the ring of aluminum hitting concrete, tires squealing, aluminum hitting cast iron, more squealing, and finally the sound of pick-up truck swerving off the road into the field.  The culprits managed to extract their truck and were never hear of again.

I LOVE IT!  And that mailbox is not going anywhere!