Rocks

After many days of delay — some because of rain, some because of rank laziness — I'm back at work on the exterior.  Today I began implementing my fix for the gutterless back of the house.  If the roof runoff falls onto unprotected soil, dirt is blasted up onto the siding.  In time that dirt will stain the siding permanently.

My approach is first to rake the dirt back against the house, slightly up onto the parging, so that the soil slopes away from the structure.  Then I put down landscape cloth to discourage weeds, and cover this with rocks.  Large rocks go down first, especially along the dripline.  Then I cover these big stones with smaller rocks.  The rocks will break up the runoff, and they also help prevent the plastic landscape cloth from being degraded by sunlight.

The soil is first sloped away from the building.

Then I put down landscape cloth, and rocks along the dripline.

More large rocks cover the landscape cloth...

...and smaller rocks complete the process.

I guess this looks OK.  If it doesn't work, I can try something else.  However, I don't want gutters in the rear, because I don't want to pay someone each year to clean them!

After the runoff issue is dealt with, I plan to develop a flower bed running the length of the building, with much of it devoted to daylilies.  They are my favorite flower.  Digging the bed will be a chore, because of all the rocks in the soil.  However, I don't have to remove every rock; just the boulders have to go.  Daylilies are remarkably uncomplaining about soil conditions, water, fertilizer, or the expertise of the grower (moi, as Miss Piggy would say).  Daylilies simply require several hours of sun each day for good flower production.  I grow them because they are beautiful (some 25,000 cultivars are available), and because I can't kill them!

Note the size of these rocks in the photo below.  Limestone is heavy!  I can see why convicts were put to work on rocks.  After five hours working on this project, my back is unhappy.

Toting these rocks is hard work!

Beyond the flower bed I plan to construct a pathway of cedar wood chips.  Walt, who with his brother Ed split my firewood, delivered six yards of chips yesterday.  I have a large pile for the front, and an equally large pile for the back.  The aroma is wonderful!  But I suspect I'll need another six yards to do the pathways around the house.

Cedar chips!  These should give 3-4 years service before I have
to put down another 5-6 inch layer.

This afternoon, as I sat on my back porch contemplating the lake, a Piliated Woodpecker flew in and went to work on one of my trees.  He scampered up and down the trunk, pecking here and there, apparently trying to get bugs to reveal themselves.  An hour later he was still hammering away, but on a different tree.  What a way to make a living!  If I were that Woodpecker, I'd be eating Tylenol like candy! •••