My mom lives alone on 3 1/2 acres in a rambling 175 year old farm house. Her property and home need much more money and effort to upkeep than she can afford. My brother and I discussed the situation over the summer and have decided to do what we can to get her property in repair this fall. Our families have been getting together on Sundays to handle some of the big projects.
Yesterday, we met at my mom's and began to trim the bushes and trees, repair some of the foundation holes and clean out gutters. My brother brought his 4 children and one of his wife's nephews. The children and I worked on trimming plants. We got two 15' lilac bushes cut down, trimmed two 7' Forsythia bushes, cut back 12' of junipers that were over 5' tall and 4' wide, cut down two 8' pine trees, removed a 6' row of undetermined bushes. Half an acre of grass was cut with a push mower.
The piles of limbs and branches were hauled to an old garden area, where they will be burned at a later date. The pile is 8' tall, 20' wide and 15' long. Obviously, we will need to do a controlled burn on several occasions. Lots of marshmallows will be toasted!
My sister-in-law and the men filled holes in the side of the house and repaired the foundation under a bowed window. They were unable to fill the other foundation holes because the wrong supplies were purchased.
Aside from accomplishing a number of tasks, everyone enjoyed the time spent working and laughing together. The weather was in the low 70's, with a moderate breeze.
We're planning on meeting again next weekend to tackle more jobs. We all slept very well last night. Sore muscles are making everyone move a little slower today.
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