
People say “the joys of home ownership,” with a little groan. I know they mean there’s always a new cost. Or couples have arguments about “when are you going to fix…?” right when the partner in question has sat down to relax and binge some Netflix. But on the other hand …
I’ve never owned a place until now. I bought a super-fixer-upper. So I have a constant list in my head. I get a few things ticked off and then dig into more, if I can. This one in the photos was a pile I thought was all yard debris. Under the brush at the top, it turned out to be mostly wood scraps and tiles, with some roofing stuff thrown in for good measure. I’ve gotten the area mostly cleared and am excited to plant a rhododendron there, as soon as the bags of roofing materials are hauled away for someone else’s use.
My parents had a huge rhodie like this (below) in their backyard. I’m thinking one might suit my spot very well.
I discovered today that there is a spigot at the back of the house. It just sprays all over. Another thing to fix. But since moving to this very rural area on the northern California coast, where repair people often take a long time to come, I’ve been learning a zen kind of attitude toward all this. It’s okay if the front of my place is still pretty funky. One thing at a time. I clear, repair what I can, get people in when that works out. And always, I have anticipation. I think it suits me, to have an array of next projects floating in my head as I walk around my home and yard. I don’t say a sequence, because that’s part of the zen. I don’t really know what will work out next. I think that’s healthy for our flexibility.
Yesterday I joined the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens my parents frequented. It’s an amazing nonprofit with garden walks out to the sea cliffs, about an hour and twenty minute drive up the coast from me.
I want to get up there for a rhodie from their shop, and fuschias, maybe azaleas, using my new membership discount, maybe during a sale.
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