Big Creek: One Little Improvement At A Time

crayolaj74 Big Creek Farmhouse Remodel before and after, home improvements, Old country home, tree cutting 8 Comments

I had the best day off a few weeks ago.  It was 19 degrees outside (that was the high), and these amazing fellas came over and got started on our tree removal.  We had to get rid of some, as I explained here some months ago.  It was the most fascinating thing I’ve ever watched!  These huge trees came down limb by strategically tied limb, and not one hit something it wasn’t supposed to.

These guys on the ground would have a huge limb cut up and on the truck before that lone dude in the cherry picker could get another one down.

I watched them out every window, and from Madre’s porch, where I had a birds-eye view of the big Maple in the front.

I loved seeing how these men worked together, and how they seemed to have fun doing it, even in horribly cold weather.

Today, I thought I would share a few before and after shots of Big Creek.  Removing the trees has changed the look of the house so much, and I’m loving how it looks.  In some of the before pictures (taken in the summer when the foliage is thick), it’s hard to tell there’s even a house in there!

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After

 

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Here’s one of the front of the house as it looked about three years ago. That English Ivy is some serious stuff…you can’t kill it, and it will grow on literally anything.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Big Creek, even though the paint is peeling and it looks old and worn out.   Madre started on home improvements soon after Papa’s passing.  She doesn’t grieve sitting still.  She painted every inch of trim and quite a lot of the house with a brush, and added vinyl siding to two outer walls that needed it the most.  She also removed all of the shutters, because shutters are just a haven for wasps.  That’s one creature Madre doesn’t like.  Here’s the after.

 We have two more trees to go.  The big sycamore has to come down yet, and a Walnut tree that rains its hard nutshells on Madre’s new tin roof.  I hope Papa would be proud of Madre’s accomplishments and our improvements, but I know he would grumble about the tree-cutting.  At least now we can quit worrying about roots in our septic fill lines and busting through our driveway, or limbs on our soon-to-be-new roof.  Plus, we can see our pretty, old farmhouse!  Maybe he’d understand….

X,O,X,O,   Martie