My Housing Project: What a Difference a Rake Makes

Aug 5, 2013 | 2 comments

Y’all know my story. I have a yard and a house that I love-love-love, but sometimes need a little more love than I can provide.

Or so I think.

Y’all also know from my recent posts that I’m in this new mentality of “One”:
My Housing Project: Back to the Beginning was the start (no pun intended).
I followed that up with TGIF: One, being thankful for those first steps.

This week, I’ve been blessed with a new pantry shelf and a stack of pallets to get creative outside. Both are wonderful gifts from Grandpa, who does amazing cabinetry and wood-working. Just as soon as I can afford a new kitchen, guess who’s building it!

A stack of wooden pallets on a cement patio.

Pallets

Not a bad start to my collection, eh? Pretty soon I’ll be using those for a vertical garden, a tool storage center, a raised bed garden, and a walkway. Yes. I’m an overachiever when it comes to dreaming about my yard.

But first, I need to prep the yard. Let’s face it: I’m not laying a wooden walkway on unclean, uneven ground.

So my grand plans for the weekend didn’t go so well. There’s no walkway. No garden. No storage set up.

But there is a clean start.

Pine Needles along the Fence

Pine Needles along the Fence

The neighbor’s Pine tree continuously drops its needles wherever it can. Dot did a good job of starting the clean-up last week. It took me only ten minutes to finish up the roadside.

Clean fenceline, roadside.

Roadside

Then I moved on to the driveway. Not too complicated to get from here:

Leaves and debris along driveway fence

Driveway Debris

to here:

Cleaner fenceline at driveway.

Just needs a good sweep.

The worst part took me about half an hour under the low branches.

Leaves and debris along the chainlink fence in the front yard.

Inside Job

I raked up as much as I could. I didn’t get the rest of the yard done, but the front third is nice and clean. Yes, I know it’s dirt! But it’s clean dirt. And it’s mine. And now it’s ready to be more than dirt. It’s almost ready to be, well, a yard This Girl can be proud of.

Clean raked dirt yard

What a Difference a Rake Makes

There’s a small pile of needles, leaves and debris in the fence corner.

Leaves, pine needles and debris in the corner of a chainlink fence

Small debris pile. (BTW, check out my awesome red tennies!)

But that’s because there was no more room at the Bin.

Trash bin overflowing with pine needles, leaves, debris and yard cleanup.

No More Room at the Bin

This may not seem like a big project to you, but it’s the Little Things that make for a great foundation. Having minimal debris in my yard makes it easier to picture the plans in my head. The beauty is no longer competing with the brash.

I can also honestly say it was really hard for me focus on the simple task of raking. Once I was outside I envisioned how the yard will look with the tree branches trimmed, and I nearly pulled out my cutting tools. But I didn’t. Then I wanted to dig up the sprinkler system and make those necessary repairs. But I didn’t.

I stayed with the One Task. The start. The one I knew I could complete.

As soon as the trash bins are emptied this week, I’ll finish the rest of the front yard. Next week I’ll move on to the back. If all I do is rake for a month, at least I’m doing something. At least I’m taking a step toward making my yard into My Yard.

And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!

You may also enjoy reading:
My Housing Project: 2013
There’s Hope for Bedford Manor

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My Housing Project: 2013

Mar 3, 2013 | 4 comments

Last year I started My Housing Project: Blog posts directly related to the improvement of my property.

With yesterday being the first nice weekend day in months, Mom came over and the three of us started cleaning up the front yard.

Leaves at the Fence

Leaves at the Fence

Leafy Trail

Leafy Trail

While they raked and bagged piles and piles of leaves, I dug up root balls for two rose shrubs and one Euonymus. The second Euonymus shrub is only partly uprooted, as the roots grow like moss and grab into the soil for nearly a foot. Those are easy enough to break with the shovel but it’s the actual thick root I’m having trouble with. After all the other digging and uprooting, I just couldn’t continue in the hard desert sand to finish it yesterday.

I didn’t photograph my efforts. I wish I had, for the Before and After. From now on, I will.

We celebrated with a Shamrock shake from McDonald’s, and it was so pleasant to see the newly cleaned yard when we drove back home. It’s still dirt, but at least now it’s clean dirt.

There’s still a pile of leaves against the fence corner. With a few more black bags, they’ll be gone.

What really excites me is that the birds are returning. For the first time since September, I cleaned and filled the bird bath as well as set out seed, peanuts, and cracked corn. It took my birds all of one hour to rediscover their buffet.

That means they’re also flocking to the nearby Joshua Tree. Which I happily discovered, is about to bloom.

Joshua Tree Buds

Joshua Tree Buds

Joshua Tree Buds Up Close

Joshua Tree Buds Up Close

Look at those buds!

Another Bud!

Another Bud!

The Whole Picture

The Whole Picture

Soon they’ll flower for a short time, then fall off and leave the beginning of a branch. Joshua Trees only bloom once every two or more years, and this is the first time mine has done so. It’s a quick process, as the bloom has grown and spread since my first seeing it yesterday. I know my Cactus Wrens will be thrilled as their home gets a new level or two!

Once I pull up the five half-dead Lilac bushes along the north fence, I hope to line it with Italian Cypress. Italian Cypress grow quite well in the desert, and they’re a wonderful shelter for birds as well as an attractive property divider. Some yards have them spaced intermittently; others plant them closely together. I love how they grow tall and thin. Some can reach as high as fifty feet! Some local nurseries have them available for less than $5 each, and my planning calls for eight or nine. These are the 3-gallon size. Sure, that’s small to start with, but since they grow so fast, I’m fine with watching them from the beginning!

I also hope to afford a raised bed gardening system for my tomatoes and herbs.

I may not be able to finance it all this summer; but the plan is the start.

And I can’t wait to get started. One plant at a time.

My birds are a little excited about it, too.

Bird Bathing

Bird Bathing

And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!

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