My Summer Project

I had the mistaken impression that when you buy a new house, your projects diminish. I was wrong. Instead, I find my self tackling projects I would never have considered in the past. My current project is a good example. Our home is located next to a common area and retention pond for the neighborhood. The area adjoining our lot is a large undeveloped space that has not been maintained after our developer went bankrupt. So taming this space has become my summer project.


The area was uneven and completely covered by waist high weeds and grass. Terri and I were afraid that nasty critters would take up residence in the lot and occasionally visit our yard. I did spot a copperhead in our yard late last year, so there was evidence to support our theory. So this Spring, I got busy with an approach that would require the entire summer and fall to execute. First, I hired my son-in-law to clear out and level the area. That was completed in June and enable me to keep the weeds and grass manageable with weekly mowing.


The next step was to use Round Up total vegetation killer to kill the noxious weeds and grasses. I completed that in July. The summer heat helped me get a complete kill of all vegetation. It now looks like a desert area. During the same period I began to scavenge rocks from developing areas in my neighborhood. I would haul the rock home and dump it in a drainage area created to carry water from my lot to the retention pond. I have hauled several tons of rock so far and am close to having enough.

So this past weekend, I took the next step by verticutting the entire area and sowing a tall fescue grass seed. My hope is that our wet year will continue through the fall as I refuse to water the area. It is a gamble, but a great year to take that gamble. My goal is to have a good stand of desirable grass by November. I am posting a picture of the current state, and will post updates as the area changes.