Time to Enjoy

We've had a little time to enjoy our future home. The summer sunsets have been spectacular.We have had a couple of opportunities to share them with each other and friends. We look forward to many years of these. Hope you ENJOY!!

The Water is Flowing

The drainage system is done, water is coming out of the ground and flowing down the hill. After a number of weeks, we laid the final piece of pipe down to the bottom of our bluff. This will allow for runoff and downspout water to flow through the property and allow the ground to dry out faster.

The first big step in the building process.

Speaking of toys

"With over an acre of lawn I have to have a JOHN DEERE riding lawn mower" Peter pleaded because of his BAD knees. "Think of the money we'll save if I move dirt instead of hiring someone, but I'll need a KUBOTA tractor" And I can't trim the trees without a "gas powered saw on a pole.
Boys and their toys!!
How do I get people to do the work for me? Just give them toys to use.

The first building

We added a workshop to put all of Peter's toys in. Bringing in "pit run" to level the site to build on. Drill holes for the poles which support the building. This pole building went up quickly. We have something to show now.

Let's start digging

First we had to remove 60 stumps so we could dig some trenches. We planned on a number of trenches for utilities and a MAJOR drainage system to help dry out the property. Bringing in the utilities in one trench from the road, about 700 feet, was the start of this 2 month project. Then we brought in water in the main drainage trench. The next trench cut across the property at the edge of the building site. And we reworked the original drainage trench along the driveway. This all ended in the large pipe trench going over the hill.

Snowy Wonderland

Snow on this island paridise, you've got to be kidding!! The local folklore tells me that this is the worst weather here on the island in 30 years. Rain and rain and rain and snow. How would we know?? What a beautiful day and just in time for the annual Christmas picture.

Clearing the property like it looked in 1987

There was a picture that we found in the old house that was an aerial photograph of the property taken in 1987. It showed the property had been cleared about 1/3 of the way. We have taken this picture as our guide and cleared the property back to that same place. It really let the winter sun through.

Bring in the wrecking Crew

We brought in the experts. Boy were they workers. In no time, they had walls and doors ripped out and passage ways thru the house. It was so much fun, we ended the adventure with blisters on our hands and sweat dripping down our faces. Naturally, we had a hold harmless from the parents just in case the walls at home look inviting.

Blackberries or a view?

Have you ever tried to remove blackberries? It took us weeks and lots of help to cut back the berries growing along the high bank side of the property. We started with the berries being about 20 feet above the bank with various small trees deep in the thicket. We cut, chopped, hacked, sprayed and bled to bring them down. It has made quite a difference in our view by cutting the berries down to the level of the property. Now we just have to continue the battle to maintain the views. This will be a large annual project.

We Live in a Motorhome ??!!

Can you believe Mary Kay living in a motorhome??? Well she does two to three days a week. As a matter of fact, the simplicity has shown us that we easily can do with less(everything but our Seattle closet or is that condo). Visitors have marveled at the spaciousness of our home away from home. It really has given us time to get to know our property and neighbors.

I can hardly wait for a long shower.

Maintaining the Yard

It looks like we have about an acre of grass to mow and a number of apple and pear trees to pick this season. What were we thinking????

Time for a riding lawn mower (YEA!) with a cup holder. "See, it really takes 3 hours to mow the lawn with a "BIG" mower, I would be all day without it".

"I'm from Dayton, I know how to pick crops and find help to get the job done". Do we save these trees for next year?

WOW! First Views

On a clear day we can see north east from Mt Baker, north across Samish Bay to Chuckanut Drive, north west to Bellingham and Lummi Island. We are on a bluff overlooking the beach houses on the north east of the island and the oyster and clam beds of Samish Bay. It looks like we are going to "have to" live with it.

Finding the Property

In April, 2006, we started out looking for a house in the Skagit Valley and ended up finding this property on the "last stop of the day". There wasn't much to see on that rainy day so we came back the next weekend and really saw the view. We were awestruck.