Out with the season

Summer is quickly slipping out of our fingers. From the look of things, this fall is going to be a cool wet one in the Pacific Northwest. Sometimes we can skate through till late October without much rain, but that's not likely to happen this year. We're frantically trying to finish up the many projects we started this summer.

House Painting

We're determined to finish painting the house event if it means taking a couple of shortcuts. It just doesn't seem right to let this project stretch into its third year.

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

We still have a bit of work to do on the front of the house, namely the eves and the very top peak.

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

We're near complete on the second peak on the South side of the house. This side of the house was in the worst condition, and therefore has received the most attention.

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

Finishing up the window trim on the south side. Tomorrow, I'll paint the inner window frames to finish up the job.

Potager

We're making progress on the Potager. Finished the fence trim, and have hauled dirt in to level it out.

From 2010 Landscape

Next up is to build the first raised bed. I'd really like to get at least one of the beds in this season, but we're really fighting against the clock on this project.

Mulching and Prepping Beds for Spring

Brought in a half yard of mulch to cover some of the beds I put in this year. I topped this bed with out 3-4" of mulch, covered with newspaper, and then topped with straw. Hopefully this bed will be more fertile come next year.

From 2010 Landscape

Soon we'll be moving indoors where we've really got our work cut out this year. We're going to try very hard to finish the kitchen within reason. That means installing the remaining walls, tiling, installing upper cabinets, and installing counter tops.

Fence installed

This weekend I made more progress on the potager. I installed appox. 38' section of fence that borders the south property line. Next up is to finish the fence trim and begin building raised vegetable beds. Hopefully I'll get at least a few of the beds in before the rain season starts. That'll help me get started with the 2011 growing season as early as possible.

From 2010 Landscape

Potager paths and patio are in!

It's been one of the hottest weekends of the year so far. Nonetheless, I was able to finish the brick work for the paths and patio through the potager garden. That's one project I can now mark off my list!

Photo of the final product:

From 2010 Landscape

Next up is to build the arbors over the paths and haul in dirt to fill the space so that it's all the same level as the paths and patio. Maybe I'll do that once it cools down a bit.

Raised Orchard

We'll soon be receiving the fruit trees we ordered this winter for our orchard. To prepare, I went out a couple of weekend ago to start preparing the holes, and to my disappointment, the ground was absolutely saturated with water. I was reminded that we live in an area with very little perk (think wetland). The only way to fix this issue on our property is to build raised planting areas. With a little more rock (5 tons to be exact) and some cedar boxes, we're ready to plant the six dwarf fruit trees we'll be receiving this year.

Before Photo:

From The Making of a Craftsman Home

After Photo:

From The Making of a Craftsman Home