Retriever Ridge

[mjt]

In the thread about our old house I mentioned we’d purchased a different house. This thread is about the new (in more ways than one) place. The house and barn were built in 1986, so it is not historic in any sense of the word. It's not even "old" by most measures. We purchased it from the original owners who moved into a townhome next to my parents. Due to health issues they needed something smaller with less maintenance.

The interesting thing about this place is the land rather than the house. A little over thirteen acres of woodland and prairie with the house situated on a "ridge" that is formed by the ravines on either side of it. We'd only seen it in the dead of winter, so it has been fun to see what's here as things become visible in the spring and summer. The previous owners had a very large edible garden fenced off from the deer. So far we have blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, apples, plums, rhubarb, and a variety of herbs. Oh, and enough chives that I could supply all the restaurants in the metro area. There are also things I haven't identified yet. More fun discoveries to come!

Regarding the house, it is only 40% of the square footage of the other place. That's a good thing; that's about the amount of space that we use now that we're mostly empty nesters. We're going to do a little remodeling to get things to suit our lives a little better. We have engaged contractors for the work to come. I'll get before photos of the house and grounds posted soon.

[mjt]

Sorry it took a while. Here are some photos.

The first meadow/prairie:

The second meadow/prairie. The mound on the left side behind the clump of trees is the new septic field. When the work was done I seeded with local native short grass prairie seed. It'll probably take a couple of years before it is fully established:

The third meadow/prairie. The mown area will be the Little Man's deer plot. He and I are discussing precisely what will be planted there...

The final open area before you get to the house. The previous owner called this are "Dogtown". It's a large-ish area inside the invisible fence.

And an alternate view of Dogtown looking back towards the driveway from the house.

The view from the edge of Dogtown towards the "back" yard. One of the ravines off to the right and the path leading to the pool. In the back is the ~half acre garden surrounded by a deer fence. The property continues on beyond the treeline where the ridge drops off to another ravine that runs from the left.

And an alternate view of the "back" yard through the fruit orchard with the property's namesakes in the foreground.

[Lily left the valley]

Yay! Photos of all sorts of green. Your new fenced garden is bigger than our entire lot.
Looking forward to future garden updates. (Saw the one in Farrington, which led me here.)

[Gothichome]

MJ, it looks to be a well landscaped property, and lots of room for the dogs to roam. I think though, your have exchanged old home restoration work for lawn mowing work
Fresh strawberries and asparagus, Mmmmmmm.
Just had a visit to your blog, I se you were still doing major work even as you were thinking of a move. I certainly hope the new owners will appreciate your efforts. Oh, and by the way, your front door looks fabulous.

[mjt]

I think though, your have exchanged old home restoration work for lawn mowing work
Fresh strawberries and asparagus, Mmmmmmm.
Just had a visit to your blog, I se you were still doing major work even as you were thinking of a move. I certainly hope the new owners will appreciate your efforts. Oh, and by the way, your front door looks fabulous.

No doubt. It took me 3 hours to mow today on the riding mower. This is only the 4th time I've mown, so I'm still working out the pattern. I don't think it's going to get much more time efficient though. I will trim some of the low hanging branches that whack me in the forehead, but I'm unwilling to cut down the trees...

And rhubarb. I made a really nice rhubarb & strawberry sauce the other day that is excellent on a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Thinking of and planning a move. We wanted to get as much done as possible. You're never done, but we wanted the house to put its best foot forward and not have any major concerns for its next steward. The front door took a while; mostly while waiting for the weather to cooperate.

[mjt]

Yay! Photos of all sorts of green. Your new fenced garden is bigger than our entire lot.

Surely the fenced garden is bigger than the Farrington lot, too. I could mow and trim that in 30 minutes...

[phil]

beautiful place! the retrievers seem happy. mowing gives you time to think without being interrupted

[aislinn]

That is the garden of my dreams!

[mjt]

Propane tank got moved today to a a more aesthetically pleasing location. It was in the middle of the yard and is now out of the way at the far end of the pole barn.

The 20x40 pole barn with enough firewood to last the rest of my life. According to the previous owner, the solar panels cover 75%+ of the electrical needs of the property.


After a long wait, the new roof trusses are supposed to be arriving before the foundation excavation begins in two weeks. In preparation, here are some before photos of the house.

The front of the house. Because the driveway is 900 feet long, curb appeal is not a priority. This place is about the property, not the buildings. There will be a small addition here to enlarge the bedroom (window left of the entry). The roofline left of the garage will be extended out to mirror the right side of the garage, resulting in a covered patio.


Three-quarter view of the back and side that overlooks dog town. The windows to the left of the side door are for the 3-season "porch". Those immediately to its right, and under the skylights, are for the laundry room that has the best view on the planet.


And the back. The big array of windows is where the deer was looking into the house in the "Gardens of Retriever Ridge" thread. The deer are the reason there is no foliage on the foundation plants under those windows. The deck will be removed and replaced by an addition that reconfigures the other bedroom and owner's suite and adds a "pool bathroom" at the back door so guests (and someday grandkids) don't need to wander too far into the house in their wet bathing suits.

[Gothichome]

Matt, you may not be a gentleman farmer but you most definitely are a a county gentleman. Be very nice all around. How big is you snow blower? It will be bag job with any significant snow fall. Nice you have al that firewood, if all were 2x4’s you would need a security guard.