The challenges and rewards are greatest where two systems meet.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

The Edge of Elderly Housing

Gretchen and I decided we will need a more easily accessed driveway in our future. This decision has been a difficult one, for it meant altering the landscape in a big way.  We have to remove many trees and eliminate the cooling shade and privacy. After two months (years) of painful discussion we are almost ready to build our combination pole barn/carport/and woodshed.
The house as it has been since the early 1980's
First, we hired Christian to remove two of the more difficult pines. He climbed and dropped 4-foot sections.

Next, our neighbor Garth brought in his excavator.  He was the man with a vision.

The changes over the first week have been amazing and shocking!

I disassembled the woodshed but left the "Covered bridge" in front of the door.


Garth did an excellent job in how he shaped our difficult "double slope".

The small pile in front of the house is our "leftover" cookstove wood, all moved and stacked by Gretchen. The green tarp is the full sized wood also "leftover" from last winter.  Everything had to be removed from the woodshed.

When we took the entryway off, the house changed (circa 1978).

Watch the telephone pole. It was in a very difficult location.

Next the wood chips and compost to hold the soil


Here are the two driveways merging onto the road. If you look closely (double click to enlarge), you can see the red flags marking the woodshed wall.

Very rough projection of the roof line.
We have a cement crew on hold till we get things straightened out at town hall.  Do we need a permit?  Or, not?   Stay tuned.