Grooming a forest

As I surveyed our lot from inside the house and decided how to landscape, it seemed easy. I wanted it to look natural, but still be under control. That meant adding a few retaining walls, some ground cover, lots of trees, and removing anything dead or noxious. Next we hit the fall clearance at Lowe's. For just $30 we got a ton of hardy mountain vegetation. So far--very easy.

The people next door (the nice ones) hired a crew of landscape people who showed up for over a week with their Mini-Exs, Bobcats, and other machinery. And the place looks good. Three weeks later, our place looks about the same. Probably the biggest accomplishment is the mini Machu Picchu-looking wall by the drive way. It better hold.

Planting a tree is so hard, it's amazing any of them ever sprout on their own. Some of these mountain plants are pretty resiliant. We've got something that looks like a strawberry plant (without the strawberries) growing through the concrete that someone pumped out into the forest. So if something can grow through a mound of conrete, I hope the stuff I plant on purpose flourishes.


Macie and some "onions" (bulbs) she planted.

I still have so much to do I kind of hopes it snows soon so I can stop.

One of the perks of living here...you can call "Casey the Woodchipper Extraordinaire" and a couple hours later, he'll drop off a heap of pine chips. Smells so good.

One of the down sides of living here...the guy next door accuses you of killing trees to build your house. Lucky for him, he just happened to find a nice open space to plop his giant wooden house. And he didn't have to kill a single tree! Everyone is a conservationalist after they build their house.