The Scourge of the Neighborhood

You know that neighbor with the overgrown yard, peeling paint, and crumbling front porch? The one that's a total eyesore and is dragging down property values? 

Well, hello! That's us. While we've been busy prettifying the insides of our so-very-humble abode, the outsides have been a bit neglected. 

It's not entirely our fault, since the former owner never laid eyes on the place or took care of it. And I'll ask for a little leeway since we did just move in, in January. But now it's May, and everything is in bloom, including our lovely dandelions, which we are growing for market. You didn't think we were just letting random weeds grow in the yard, did you?

Here's where I post some embarrassing pictures of our yard:

Those two fir trees on the left are just the worst - half dead, and I'm pretty sure the 25+ years of dog pee that they've experienced hasn't helped anything. The birch (white trunks), while pretty, has a trunk that is leaning into our roof and needs to go. And that tree in the foreground? It's dead. Yep. We figured that out after it refused to blossom this spring.

Our side yard is just as awful, if not worse:

The fence is from the 90s, part of it blew down in a recent storm (where you can see the neighbors trashy - pun intended - temporary "fencing"), and we have a disgusting mixture of old gravel and random weeds growing out of the ground. But you know what this is? A blank slate! I'm imagining a sitting area, strawberry beds, and a fire pit...

I found an arborist doing work at the house next door, and scheduled them for the following week. For $400.00 they cut down no less than 7 trees in our yard and hauled them away. For another $75.00 they came back and dug up the stumps. Worth every penny.

the arborists at work and a glimpse of our crappy backyard.

The front of our house now looks so much better...you can actually see the house now! 

Before

After

See that crazy storm cloud in the "After" picture? Mike had to hurry and get our roof patched up - it's been leaking in the garage. We're planning on replacing the entire roof, but probably it'll happen later this summer. In the meantime, my super handy husband took care of it himself:

A house is definitely a labor of love. It's never-ending, and while rewarding, it's also exhausting. I'm happier than ever that we bought a small house. Less to maintain, less to clean, less place to store useless "stuff." Less is more, for sure.

While we'll continue our daily mini-projects and figure out how to haul away all our yard debris, it's time to take a break. We're excited for this upcoming summer, and we've got lots of hikes and local vacations planned, starting this weekend. More to come!