Edging on Insanity, or Fighting with Abandon

Photo lifted from: http://romancebandits.com/grass/
Pretty silly piece, I may have to read more of it.

I don't know if you've ever cared for a lawn before, but choosing what beverage to consume while casually walking along behind the mower, that pulls itself along, is only half the battle. And if you're going to do battle, it's better to go with the intent to win.

Where I grew up, there was a house that was completely abandoned. Just up the road from my parents house, and when I learned to drive I passed it daily going anywhere. The place was overgrown with weeds, the roof was sagging, there was no glass in any of the remaining window frames. It was a mess.

Rumor has it, the last family had cleared out in the mid eighties. Then kids stared partying in it, and there was a fire. By the time we moved out there, I was in my mid teens and the house was a complete mess. [I'll see if I can find a picture back in my files, but we all know I won't]

Point being, this house was half collapsed off to the side of the road. There was a low spot where a driveway once was, but it was covered by layers of leaves and dirt. The ground had quickly grown grass and  weeds, left unchecked by years of not mowing.

Dueselhouse was left empty for at least a year before we moved in. When I imagine my home prior to May 29th 2012, that is the image I have in my head, and it embarrasses me to think of it that way. So one of my main motivators is to make my house not look like that mess - including the whole fire part.

As I was saying, Dueselhouse was forclosed upon by Freddie Mac, and left lonely for some time prior to its new moniker. Whoever cared for the lawn was obviously employed in just cutting the grass once every couple months so that the locals didn't complain. (I've heard from a couple neighbors they all pitched in a time or two) Now the only photo we have seen of the house besides the MLS listing that led us to the palace is the one from a rental ad around 2005.

It was a grand place. A tree grew off to the left, there was an ornate, craftsman style, to the porch railing; and the trees that have recently fell (on/near the house) were tall and almost still alive looking.

The classic image also shows a large walk leading to the front steps, but today the front walk wasn't looking quite so grand. We had a good twenty inches of walking space, but the old photo led me to believe that there was more to be seen. Additionally, the curb surrounding two sides of the property was all but invisible to the passer by. And the sidewalk! Oh the sidewalk... well, you get the idea.

There is a curb under there, somewhere.

So while Katie was looking at house plants the other night, I picked out a string trimmer and what just floored me - a jug of premixed fuel for a two stroke motor. Unreal how lazy people are, and I bought a quart of fuel for about five dollars.

Never again. But I tried it.

Armed with a Ryobi multi-trimmer, and rake, I went to work. I trimmed and cut down along the side of the house, the porch, the mail box, and then I was at the front walk.

I looked at that front walk, and revved my weed-wacker.

The sidewalk looked back at me, and just sat there. Maybe it was looking at the neighbors house defiantly, I don't know. The jerk.

Well, I started trimming.

Son of a gun was almost a foot wider by the time I was finished! Now, when Mrs. Duesel and I walked out together, we could actually walk beside one another! Who knew? Well I then realized the sidewalk was probably just as over grown. And the curb out front...

SURPRISE! Our home is surrounded by a fine line of concrete just waiting to be revealed! Oh, and the gutter that runs from the curb to the pavement of the street, that isn't supposed to have grass weeds growing in it!

I laid down the broom and rake along the lines where the grass once reached for the comparison of trimming it all back.

To keep to the point (I am watching Blazing Saddles right now), one of the easiest things to keep a house looking lived in is to keep the perimeters trimmed. Curb, driveway, sidewalk, edge of the house. Put a deep clean line on it, and you've got a good looking piece of property; at least, that's what I think.

Everybody has something that makes them think that their house isn't the worst looking place on the block, what is that line that makes you think the house is habitable versus abandoned?

Next step, landscaping!

(Ok, flower beds and shrubs will be a spring project, but you get the idea)

As a little post script, I should tell you what I did with all of the slag from edging the property.
Most of it went into paper-lawn cutting bags, from Home Depot. But in the street was some built up soil, what could someone use that for?

Perhaps if there was a post hole in their yard... what could cause such a situation?

We moved our mailbox to the porch, like many houses in the neighborhood. Removing the post that supported the original mailbox was extremely hard. Fortunately I am extremely strong, so the post pulled right out. Next I filled the hold in the ground with afore mentioned soil that had build up in the street! It's got to be good, there are all sorts of weeds growing in it!

Post hole in ground

Dirt from the street

Problem solved.

(note: I did pick out much of the weeds before stuffing it in the hole)

AND ANOTHER THING:

Edging is a dirty job!