07-01-15 Major tree trimming & first tree removal!

Miss Bella enjoys being outside with me when I'm working on the grounds. I like having her nearby so that she might alert me to any critters nearby that I don't see myself first.

This is a midway picture of a tree that I cut down. 

On the left is a before shot of this pitiful, ugly dead tree. It was in the center, front of the house on the front side of the bamboo so it was the FIRST thing I saw every time I came home. I checked it out and there was no saving it. So I set out to chop it down. This was my first "tree removal" and just my 3rd time ever using a chainsaw.

Tree down!

Here are some pics of taking out that tree! Chain came off again but since I had figured out how to fix it last time I was able to quickly get it back on this time and proceed! A proud moment!

Before and after!

Then I took to the driveway area to trim the 4 trees to the right that lead to the house. Of them 3 looked pretty bad but salvageable and the one to the far left (which you can barely see because it has no green on it).

A lot done! Got it all gathered up into 2 piles. I was going to burn it like that then it dawned on me later that it all needs to be chopped up smaller before I can burn it and I should cut up some of it for fire wood!

Riley playing outside with his new airplane! I love anything that he does that gets him outside! =D

After getting the trees all trimmed up I fertilized them all!

Two of these trees have some root exposure which I can only assume is due to the aggressive east to west cross winds we get here regularly. So I'll need to figure out how to fix that and prevent it!

XoXo,

Elizabeth

06-16-15 Working on the backyard & inside!

Since the BACK yard (that is fenced in from the rest of the property) was such a low priority before we moved in and immediately after moving in, I didn't do anything with it for a few weeks. So after we were settled into the house and the front grounds looked decent, I began itching to do something with the back. This is what it looked like.

There is this gap from the back of the house to a concrete slab partially covered by part of a pergola (most of it since removed) because there used to be a huge deck or sun room off the back of the house and it met up with that concrete slab. That part had to be torn out about 2 years ago due to extensive water damage. I hope to add a new deck in the future that spans across the entire back of the house and add french doors from the dining room out onto the deck. #futureplans

Just one of the few pillars left from the old pergola that somebody else (not us) tore down awhile ago.

Desert weeds galore! 

You can see in these shots patchy fence work. What it is is that a few years ago (maybe several) when the fence was originally built they put 2 feet worth of concrete blocks on the bottom and THEN built a wood fence inside or on top of that. So in total the backyard fence is about 7-8 feet tall. Which is nice for privacy but I've yet to figure out why they did it the way they did. Now last year a few of those panels fell down and so the unpainted portion is where they put up  new panels and none of it was ever painted. The old fencing is a light blue that was greatly aged by time, not intentionally. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do with it yet, if I will paint it all 1 new color or if I'll paint the new fencing to match the blue aged wood. I can't decide if I like it or not.

Some before and after collages. Cleaned up the yard and put in some outdoor seating and stuff.

It is far from complete and just the beginning but I wanted to setup a little grill area and since I have personally NEVER grilled the only one I own is this tiny one we bought for a day we spent on the lake last summer. And that lattice you see there is the ONLY remaining lattice anywhere on the property, lol! 

 And here is why I love living in the country! A day with rain in the distance, near farmers with gorgeous rows of corn and this is the view I get when driving to town! This corn field is just about  a mile from my house and I pass it every time I go to town. I love it!

Talk about a mail box redo. That little guy was so ugly and pitiful, much less you couldn't even see the number. So I just got some black spray repaint, sprayed down the ENTIRE thing and put new numbers on it. I want to do a whole new one in the near future but for now at least it doesn't look hideous AND it functions as the mail woman can now see the house numbers!

Another gorgeous Arizona sunset from my front yard! I couldn't love it any more if I tried! =)

To the inside of the house!

Things a little more setup in the living room (although the chase on the sectional was later moved)

Getting the essentials put together in my room. Love my old metal headboard and foot board and this adorable antique nightstand I got off of Craigslist. I didn't redo that one, someone else did, but they did aqua paint and applied a crackle finish on it after. I love it! 

Dining room progress!

Oops, almost forgot! A corner in my room where I have an antique chair, an old antique phone a friend gave me, an antique sewing box kit on the floor and my Ariat cowgirl boots! =)

The built in book shelf in the living room. I have many more books than that...

Dining room buffet all setup! =D

XoXo,

Elizabeth

05-26-15 Final grounds clean up before move-in!

Picture time! The end of May we spent another day at the house to clean up the grounds around the shop and driveway so that that area would be "cleared" prior to us moving in. Here are some before and after photos of that!

Standing in the shop looking out before...

Same view, before...

After the driveway to the shop was cleaned up!

Standing in the shop looking out towards the well into the driveway area before with all those weeds!

After! All the weeds got pulled or raked up and into a pile to be burnt!

Much better driveway/parking area!

Then for fun I really wanted to mark these walk way and driveway areas because it always felt odd that it was all just wide open, no shape or definition to the area. I did this purely for fun and for me to see visually if what I had in my head (and on paper) would look right in person. So I used black spray paint to create these lines. The picture above are the two lines around 4 tall trees, 5 pomegranate trees and the entry gate to the front yard. In the future I hope to a permanent border, water lines ran from the well and flowers and bushes filling this area inside the trees!

This is a shot of the two mature mesquite trees framing the shop that I love so much! For the longest time I've been envisioning a hammock between those two trees as a wonderful reading spot! I wanted to keep the walk way to the shop and the backyard gate open (as you can see by the lines) but have this rounded outline that compliments the canopy of both trees. So when I do put in the permanent border it will be in this shape and inside it will probably be mulch or something soft, other than just dirt.

This is the well and pump that sits right in the middle of the yard. Where I'm from well pumps have adorable little pump houses! Although I'm sure their primary function is coverage and preventing weather and sun damage, I also just think they're super adorable. So the goal here is to eventually have a Pump House that looks like a tiny 4x4 little shed with a door and window, maybe even shutters. Just something that covers this but looks cute. And the Pump House will have a few bushes around it. 

This is a view of when you pull up the driveway and you're facing the house but you look to the right, there is a big gate over there that goes into the open field. The gate needs to be repaired but I imagine one day when I'm using that field for horses or cows that having a gate on this side will be beneficial so I want to make sure that when I redo the driveway there is a pre-planned option to GO that way, as well as to the left to go to the house and shop.

Next blog post is about moving day!! Yay!

XoXo,

Elizabeth