View allAll Photos Tagged sideyard
King... Of a garbage can?!
We actually got this garbage can from family in response to housewarming wishes for a larger trash can for our kitchen. However, this was clearly an outdoor can, and too big to carry up and down stairs (it has wheels), so we took it outside as an auxillary can. Then our contractors monopolized it for years, filling it with their crap -- some of which was left over after they were done with the job. It's laid here in our yard since 2004 or so! Ridiculous.
BACKSTORY: Clint took Beavis out for a photo-shoot. Little did he know this was his last chance to get outdoor photos of Beavis before his early demise on 2/23 ):
standing.
Beavis the cat, fence, log pile, milk jug, trash can, tree.
side yard.
February 5, 2008.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
... View videos of Beavis the cat at: www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=ClintJCL&search_q...
PX70 V4B Test Film
L/D wheel 2/3 toward dark.
Taken in the morning, bright sun but I was in the shade.
No shielding, but I put away immediately to develop.
That blur there is a bee that flew into the flower right as I took the shot.
First shot with the new color film from the Impossible Project.
Taken outside in very bright sunlight.
I guess this is why people paint fences? 10 years ago, this fence was intact, but not healthy looking. Always a bit green. Nowadays, all you gotta do is miss a piece of kudzu with your hatchet, and you take out a foot section of the fence. The wood is so rotted out and rained on that it's brittle and almost hollow.
It's too late to save this fence. I'm gonna let it rot away. The neighbor's half of the fence isn't in good condition either. One day we may both lose some our privacy. But it won't be ME buying a new fence, if it's anybody, it'll be my neighbor. I will not care if they see my yard. In fact, I wonder if keeping my yard intentionally messy would accelerate the progress of them buying a new fence. But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, this existing fence has to finish rotting. Meanwhile, this entire concrete patio could landslide down the back of the hill someday, as half of the concrete patio is on my neighbor's already-condemned-once yard. So who knows what will ultimately happen with this part of the yard.
I am the best neighbor ever.
The white wooden chairs were found curbside a few months ago, and came in handy during the house maintenance.
chairs, house maintenance, iron fence, kudzu, light, patio table, rotting fence.
side yard, Clint and Carolyn's house, Alexandria, Virginia.
October 14, 2011.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
... Read Carolyn's blog at CarolynCASL.wordpress.com
BACKSTORY: Random pics taken during our 2011 house maintenance. Our most taxing house-related year since the completion of our addition.
This is cropped - there were even more in the row. Seen in a residential area north of Balboa Park in San Diego.
Somebody must have thought this was creative!
Existing:
Interlock Walkway & Steps & Driveway
Retaining Wall with Raised Bed
(1) Pink Flowering Weigela
(1) Green Juniper
(2) Variegated Hostas
(1) Sum and Substance Hosta
Some Rocks
Goals:
1) Install edge restraint along walkway since former "contractor" did not install (includes repair of sunken interlock).
2) Install stone edge between walkway and future garden to finish edge.
3) Install large garden with multi-season interest, foliage colour and texture, and white & pink flower colours to improve curb appeal.
4) Relocate rocks.
5) Relocate Variegated Hostas.
6) Remove Sum and Substance Hosta.
7) Install (1) Stepping Stone in garden.
8) Top up existing raised garden with triple mix soil and mulch.
The excavation of the back yard is now complete. The rocks sitting in the beds were discovered upon excavation. The beds were raked of all material and, believe it or not, they were also swept to ensure that there were no grass seeds left behind (especially since the company that cuts the lawn had been there earlier in the week). The foundation of a garden is the most important part and should be done properly. Any weeds or grass roots left behind would grow up through the new soil and be nearly impossible to erradicate. The edge restraint that was installed around the patio is visible by the island bed.
Was cruising by on a neighborhood street last night and spotted this little dazzler in a sideyard. Peony stops the traffic!
My niece.. Nora's firstborn.. Santa Maria, California: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria,_California
This angle really shows the beauty of this part of the garden. The enomous pink hydrangea clusters are so captivating. The monarda has some powdery mildew on the leaves, but that didn't stop the flowers from putting on their show. I love the little splash of yellow from the hemerocallis.
Paid too much money for this photo.
There are at least thirteen people in this photograph, not counting the photographer, who has rather dramatically insinuated himself into the shot.
Existing:
Interlock Patio & Steps
(1) Sunburst Honeylocust
Goals:
1) Install large garden with multi-season interest, foliage colour and texture and bright coloured flowers to create a secluded escape.
2) Install island garden bed in curve of existing patio.
3) Create a private sitting area in garden.
4) Personalize the space.
Nasturiams in our Fariey Garden
With the Fish for the Pond we will some day build...the roses all around are getting ready to bloom..soon...so for now the Faireys play here
They FINALLY filled the retaining wall. It was about a year or more that Virginia Design Builders left the wall open, allowing rain to freely fill up in the cinder blocks. They also allowed trash in the wall too -- I have a picture of a can in there. I suspect that they did not remove the trash, since that would equal more concrete and thus more money. And of course, we were charged over the initial cost of the contract for this "service".
To see an official VA DPOR sanction of $500 (+$150) against Dan Lopez and Virginia Design Builders: www.acm.vt.edu/~clint/download/filedump/2008/daniel-m-lop... ... These people were suing him for $400K last time I checked.
To see OUR contract with Dan Lopez / Virginia Design Builders: www.acm.vt.edu/~clint/download/filedump/2008/daniel-m-lop...
gravel, retaining wall.
construction. during addition.
side yard, Clint and Carolyn's house, Alexandria, Virginia.
September 7, 2006.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
... Read Carolyn's blog at CarolynCASL.wordpress.com
1-13-2013
Rabbit signs are plentiful each morning when I wake up. You don't see them during the day but catch a sight of them just before it gets light. Last week I was letting City and Bessie outside and there was a small bunny about three feet in front of the backdoor. I thought as I opened the door it would disappear. It didn't! Bessie came within two feet of it and she was so surprised she froze, the rabbit froze and than ran. Bessie was so surprised she didn't even pursue!
If it hadn't been for my cat "Sunshine", I wouldn't have known this moth was in the grass. She spotted it and wasn't sure what it was, so she was attempting to touch it. But every time she would get close to touching it, the moth would flap its wings and she'd yank her paw back and jump from being startled.
So, I kept her from harming it and snapped a few phone photos. Then I made sure she stayed away from it until it went elsewhere.
Once again, thanks to my friend Rebecca for the quick ID.
Beavis decides to take a quick bathroom break amongst the safety of the thorny plants. I'm not gonna disturb him!
BACKSTORY: Clint took Beavis out for a photo-shoot. Little did he know this was his last chance to get outdoor photos of Beavis before his early demise on 2/23 ):
peeing.
Beavis the cat, thorny plant.
side yard.
February 5, 2008.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
... View videos of Beavis the cat at: www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=ClintJCL&search_q...
The pinkish cactus on the left is a Santa Rita. This one is very thirsty, but the worst thing is the tiny white spots.
They look like bits of marshmallow, but if you shoot it with water and it breaks open, there are little tic-like parasites that love the Santa Rita. Ugh..... When this cactus is healthy and thriving, it changes color between Summer and Winter, and blooms the prettiest orchid-like yellow flowers.
The cactus on the right is an Opuntia I originally bought at Home Depot in a pot. I only bought it because it had about 8 flowers blooming on it's single pad! I planted the single pad, and it has grown and bloomed for the last 10 years in spite of my occasional neglect. (Like now.)
Everything inbetween is called Pencil Cactus.
I originally planted about 5 groups of 2-4 Pencils at only about 9-12 inches in length!
The Pencil Cactus can bloom little white flowers!
I can tell you this, that in 1872, the Donnellan family called this house home. The brook still carries their name, though some maps call it Meekin. Either way, this dirt bend is one of the quietest places you can drive with evening falling. Here in the hollow, few folks come on the edge of darkness. No streetlights, no artificial shine to push back the blue absolute. One tiny sideyard bulb is all that's offered, cast across a murky scape and half-frozen stream water. A few winters back, a dead whale washed up on shore, and this road was choked with vehicles for days until it washed away. I came too, with all the other morbid visitors. Guess I just couldn't resist the draw of my old haunt becoming a brief and curious pull. Earlier this month, a storm surge filled the road with rocks and reminders that the ocean can't be trusted to keep calm. It's still as a ghost tonight, at least – same as the spectres I've never seen or heard. But as I stumbled up the streambank, a woman whose face I couldn't render shouted out from the far side. She was walking in the gloom, saw the light on my camera, and got curious. I'll never see her again, I never did.
December 28, 2022
Ogilvie, Nova Scotia
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