Parting Shots

 One of the last times that I went to the house we are selling, I looked around and reminiscences abounded. So, I took a few parting shots. There were the many times vacuuming water out of the basement, for instance. But the picture I show here reminds me that our house closing date was delayed a month because the inspector was concerned that the wall was slowly collapsing. We had to have carbon fiber straps installed to stabilize the wall. The horizontal crack had paint in it from where I had painted the wall over 15 years earlier. I don't think it has move much in that time. 

Two dehumidifiers worked non-stop to try to mitigate the moisture. Many professionals suggested solutions but none that would work when you are a foot below the water table and lower than any point to drain the water to. The platforms prevented tracking paint upstairs when you came down to do the laundry. The Dagger whitewater canoe had many good memories. It is really hard to carry by oneself, however.

A cellphone does very poor digital zoom, but if you look closely you can see the molting hawk sitting atop the swing frame.

A fairly modest home from the street, but it met our needs for 22 years and had many characteristics and memories we enjoyed.

The Willow Oak at the back corner of the carport is about 2 1/2 feet in diameter and spreads over the house. Everyone who looks at it seems to think it should come down, but we like trees.

The flower garden is so dense in the summer with lilies of various kinds that no weeding is required. It typically blooms from April until late July.

There are two Northern Catalpa Trees, the following one with a double trunk. This section of yard was the best for soccer, throwing ball and has a basketball hoop and backboard off to the left.

The other one has a very twisted trunk with a very large fork about seven feet up. It used to have a large Wisteria vine that wrapped up into the fork upon which my oldest son would mount the fork to read. You can also see two out of three firewood sheds that I built for keeping several winter's wood dry.

The lot is actually two lots for a total of about 3/4 acre, pretty big for in town. along the far boundary are five stately Shortleaf Pines that laid down a large bed of needles every year. For many years a hawk nested in the top of one of these and kept the squirrel and songbird population in check. There were numerous squirrel nests in the hardwoods.

I had built the swingset fort at another house we rented some 25+ years ago now. In more recent years it had become a place to store firewood and few swings for the rare occasions when grandchildren come to visit. At one point a zipline ran back to right of the shed.

Being winter it is hard to see the six blueberry plants I bought from the extension office soon after we moved in. In recent years they had produced gallons of berries but this last year the animals must have lacked other food because they decimated my crop.

I had tried gardening the first few years I was here, but the soil was so poorly drained that dwarf plants were the rule. The last few years I had tried a raised bed, but the groundhog, possum, and rabbits like greens too much. I had built the compost pile the first year we were there. Worms and bacteria and moisture are rough on even treated wood. Someone will need to replace it. The Chinese Chestnut at the right produced copious chestnuts but most years they were underdeveloped and worm eaten. If you collect them early, you can get a few to roast, though I never tried it on an open fire.

I built the 12 x 20 shed and added the lean-to roof a year ago for the riding lawnmower. The pine log to the right of the shed roof was what was left of a large Virginia Pine that fell on the shed about 6 years ago during a heavy ice storm.

It was a good tool/workshop shed.

I built the center roof trusses with a vaulted ceiling so that I could flip over boards when using the tablesaw. When the large pine broke off about 3 feet above the ground and flipped over onto the shed it broke one truss and cracked two others. The repairs were not extensive. You can see where I spliced one of the cracked ones. I was pleased that my trusses could take all of that strain and the trunk not come down into the shed. Nothing inside was harmed.

The two small trees are a Jonathan and Winesap Apple trees I planted about four years ago. I was hoping for some fruit this year. Hopefully someone will enjoy good apples. Beyond that is a twenty foot American Holly and three Willow Oaks.

There are also three Maple cultivars planted perhaps 40 years ago.

At the back corner is a Walnut tree that has grown over the corner marker, obscuring it from view.

The drainage problems were not just in the basement. I dug several diversion ditches to direct water into the grate and the underground, 30 inch concrete pipe carrying the creek. During heavy rains this pipe probably needs to be at least 48 inches.

I don't understand the trend to paint brick. I like a simple brick veneer house with its low maintenance. I also find it fascinating how cameras pick up light wave interference in the bricks, revealed as curved cement joints, which are not there.

A carport long enough to accommodate two vehicles or many partiers on a few occasions. I see numerous evidences of efforts to reduce water inundation in this end of the house. None of them ultimately worked.

And we heated with wood for many years, but you already know that if you have read even a few of my blog entries. So, I end with warm thoughts about our home of 22 years, but no regrets for what had been a rather high maintenance property. I hope someone else enjoys it as much as we did and finds a way to reduce the maintenance.