Watering

I want to use xeriscaping and native plants as much as possible, but this year is a really bad drought.  Its dryer than the end of August, and has been since mid-july.

This spring we acquired several native plants.  I was hoping they would have time to get established before summer came on so strong.

The salal is toast.  It dried out and died before June.  It was on the north side of the house.

The ones on the slope were a mixed bag.

Ferngully is where these two fellows went in.

 This gulley is where all the Storm water from the street drains down.  I am a little concerned about this, so in go some native plants to hold the remaining soil down.

There's also a couple of Oregon grape hidden in amongst the weeds.  A thimbleberry and a vine maple round out the cast of characters so far.

This is a wider view of the slope.  Steep, crappy soil, and getting hammered with storm water.

I need to hit this with something to trim down the weeds.  That would open it up for the desirable natives, and make it look better.

But that would also expose them to more sun.

We will see who makes it to September...

Some minor weeding

The east side of the house was looking a little ragged

looking north, up the hill

Looking south, down the hill

This vine stuff was wrapping around the CATV wires.

So I grabbed some tools, and went at it for about 15 minutes.

Looking north, up the hill, after

And, looking south, down the hill, after

This is where I am envisioning a fish-ladder like rain garden to manage the stormwater coming down the hill.  I need to keep it out of the neighbor's yard, and out of my basement.

But for now, I need to clean the brush up.

In medias res

Some friends of mine have suggested the KonMari method of home organization and tidying up.  So I decided to have a swig of the kool-aid.

Before pix.

I started with my underwear.  This picture was taken after I had done just my socks and my underwear.  The paper grocery sacks are a temporary storage method.  The bookcase that has been upcycled into a wardrobe has shelf-spacing that is a little awkward.  I wanted to get started without wasting time looking for the perfect storage containers to keep my crap in.

The below photo is from after completing the project for the evening.  Still to do?  The closet that I am keeping the hanger-bound clothing on.  Laundry is ongoing, and so a lot of stuff will appear as we get done.

Mister Bear is not sure about the whole proceedings, but he should be OK.

Next step?  I need to dive into the closet and see what is in there.  That might have to wait a day or two.

A Friendly tip

A friend sent this to me today.  i think it deserves a reblog.  If you don't like profanity, don't go here.  But this is a SFW blog about cleaning your house.  Think flylady, but for the rest of us...

http://unfuckyourhabitat.tumblr.com/post/42115227575/emergency-cleaning-unfuck-your-whole-house-in-the

A milestone, of sorts.

Post #1