6/19/2015 Landscaping complete

6/19/2015
Happy days, the muddy hillside is no more!  After two years of dealing with mud, weeds, and the look of an abandoned house (while all our attentions were focused on the inside), we have completion on our exterior landscaping.  J&B Landscaping out of Arcadia, WI did a fabulous job of designing and creating everything we were hoping for.  Jake listened to all our wants and needs and he and his crew created the results you see here.  We had few requirements, but the ones we did have were non-negotiable.  Things like the stone steps leading up from the patio, not having ANY grass to mow, minimal upkeep, and hearty native plantings were our must haves.  Everything else sprang from recommendations by Jake and implemented to go well with our requirements.  We are immensely happy homeowners.  There needs to be some edge cleanup, and a fence added at one end, but those are relatively unimportant to the big picture, and something Debra and I can handle later on our own.

Looking back to the west along the north side of the house and garage.

Small patio off the back entrance to our master bedroom.

Looking back towards the driveway.  We will be placing a tall split rail fence at the end to provide a little additional privacy.

Looking back southeast towards the lower level walkout.

We were using that fire pit even before they were half finished with the landscape.

Those steps were the main focal point around which the rest of the landscape was designed.

Looking back northwest into the pine grove.

Our view back to the southwest.

6/3/2015 Finishing Touches

6/3/2015
We have completed a few more final touches to the house and yard that have us looking more like a completed home.  The trim is installed, and all that remains inside is to finish staining the windows.  This of course does not include the basement, which we will not be finishing for a few more years.  Outside is the big news, with our landscaper returning to finish the grounds outside.  Everything is going to be natural stone, mulch, and native plantings.  My one main requirement was that there would not be one blade of grass that would require regular mowing, and Jake from J&B Landscaping and his crew are taking care of that in a gorgeous way.

The stairway, with plenty of natural light, leading to the basement.  We finished the trim and the window up above.

Once you turn left at the bottom of the stairs, this is our entrance to the main basement.  On the near left is the door to our cold storage/root cellar/storm bunker.  You can see beyond the french doors that the basement is raw open stud walls for now, with future completion a few years down the road.  The floor plan for this room is shown in a previous entry on the printed floor plan.

Lower level front "before" picture.

Lower level front "in progress" picture.

Upper level front "before".

Upper level front "in progress".