Musings from an old codger...

[Snafflebit]

1. I wish when we moved into our home in 2000 I would have never purchased mulch. I spend about $1000-1500 per year year on mulch and another $500-1000 for labor to spread it (in the years that I did not do it myself). I should have purchased ground covers like ivy, vinca minor, myrtle and pachysandra all those years. I would have had to do it for only a few years and never had to again.

Great advice! I am in process of adding landscape and weighing the mulch vs. ground cover debate. California is dry and hot for portions of the year, so ground covers can be tricky. There is some periwinkle from the neighbors creeping into a shady spot. I may transplant some of that. In the front that gets full sun I want to try creeping thyme, but it may not be happy.

 

[Obbnw]

Buy it, add the extra piece of land where he was going to build onto your existing lot plat, then sell the house on the remaining lot that's now too small for another one to be built.

He declined the offer, but I think it did at least trigger some retrospect and that I'm serious. He finally agreed to meet with me. We walked around the yard point out some of the main problems.

His values are definitely different than mine and basically said the view isn't worth anything and that he wouldn't mind if someone put a 14' wall on his property line. He implied I'm the exception and that most people would be fine with it.

That said I do think he will lower the structure 2' to 4', which is a big help. They put together a plan and didn't realize the slope of the existing grade varies by about 2' under the building and there is another 2' drop in grade over about 30' to tie into the driveway. 4' to 6' lower is probably where most people would have started.

I'll still lose my "worthless" view, but at 4' lower I can probably work it into the grand landscape plan. He thinks the god-awful mess of wires makes the view suck. The wires are bad but if you look past the wires the view behind them is all I see. Even in the attached zoomed in pick focused on the wires the view is still nice. That one transformer box does suck though. In one part of the yard that box is exactly covering the peak of Mt Olympus (the less snow covered slab mountain below).





He didn't like my vegetable garden - too much dirt.


He said my "little" wine patio



and the view from sitting at the blue table looking at the camera to the peak in the pic below adds no value to my property.

I was a little hurt ; ) I've purposefully framed that view with specific branch pruning of the maple tree. I'm not good enough of a photographer to truly capture it, I think it is much nicer in person.



I will admit, in its current state my garden does have a solid "junk mans garden" vibe.

So it goes. Unfortunately for me, my wife is already looking at other properties and rethinking my whole retirement plan. She was never really fully on board with my "I want to die in this house mentality". If it is worst case we will probably move. The new owner won't care because they won't know what they lost. If I can't work in the garden without letting go of what I lost I'll be on board the move train too.

I would miss my wall of grapes, but I can just start a new one.

My kids are both in the northwest (corvallis and seattle), lots of grapes in the Willamette valley.

 

[jswordy]

He declined the offer, but I think it did at least trigger some retrospect and that I'm serious. He finally agreed to meet with me. We walked around the yard point out some of the main problems.

His values are definitely different than mine and basically said the view isn't worth anything and that he wouldn't mind if someone put a 14' wall on his property line. He implied I'm the exception and that most people would be fine with it.

That said I do think he will lower the structure 2' to 4', which is a big help. They put together a plan and didn't realize the slope of the existing grade varies by about 2' under the building and there is another 2' drop in grade over about 30' to tie into the driveway. 4' to 6' lower is probably where most people would have started.

I'll still lose my "worthless" view, but at 4' lower I can probably work it into the grand landscape plan. He thinks the god-awful mess of wires makes the view suck. The wires are bad but if you look past the wires the view behind them is all I see. Even in the attached zoomed in pick focused on the wires the view is still nice. That one transformer box does suck though. In one part of the yard that box is exactly covering the peak of Mt Olympus (the less snow covered slab mountain below).

View attachment 112974
View attachment 112975


He didn't like my vegetable garden - too much dirt.
View attachment 112978

He said my "little" wine patio
View attachment 112979


and the view from sitting at the blue table looking at the camera to the peak in the pic below adds no value to my property.

I was a little hurt ; ) I've purposefully framed that view with specific branch pruning of the maple tree. I'm not good enough of a photographer to truly capture it, I think it is much nicer in person.

View attachment 112980

I will admit, in its current state my garden does have a solid "junk mans garden" vibe.

So it goes. Unfortunately for me, my wife is already looking at other properties and rethinking my whole retirement plan. She was never really fully on board with my "I want to die in this house mentality". If it is worst case we will probably move. The new owner won't care because they won't know what they lost. If I can't work in the garden without letting go of what I lost I'll be on board the move train too.

I would miss my wall of grapes, but I can just start a new one.

My kids are both in the northwest (corvallis and seattle), lots of grapes in the Willamette valley.

Great that there is some movement on his part. I disagree completely with his opinion that the view is worthless, as would an agent if you were to put your place up for sale.

I can relate to longing for other properties. The sale of the 1-acre lot off our farm by a previous owner 45 years ago that allowed the house to be built immediately next door definitely negatively impacted our place. I own 25 acres, yet this is my kitchen window view.


Other than that one glaring item, we like it. The new owners have already asked me if I want to sell any of my land. "No." I worked for 15 years to buy the house and lot next door that they now own! But I have been jinxed with that property. Actually was high bid twice at foreclosure auction, and the bank rejected my bid both times. It is never going to be, especially now that they have a Mexican crew working on it. New owner has stars in his eyes about how much he'll spend and how much he'll clear selling it. We'll see.