Rain, rain and more rain.

We've been having enough rain to think about building an ark. The land on Whidbey is completely saturated with puddles everywhere; ditches full; catch basins overflowing; wetlands, creeks and lakes high; and people growing webbed feet. Fortunately, our built pond and wetland are handling our roof and site water beautifully. The pond is draining into the wetland, as planned, and the wetland is filling, with about a foot of capacity yet to go. It appears we've provided for more than adequate overflow. If this storm doesn't fill it to capacity, it's hard to imagine what would. Yesterday afternoon, after it stopped raining, the wetland showed no signs of water on the surface after about 2 hours so the absorption is rapid.

dbBrad our design builder and I worked together on this project, and two other storm water projects in Greenbank.

Extending our Stream

Our little stream extension was under construction last week. Just in time for our early Thanksgiving celebration with friends. As always, we had the last minute project scramble getting put in place just minutes before our guests arrived.

Last week:

This week:

The snow is falling and the temperature is in the mid 20's. It's beautiful out, but cold. Fortunately, Brad of dbBrad finished up one leg of our heating system last week.

Sunday - A Day of Work!

With a borrowed "half hour" from Mr. Ed (time was actually more like 2 or 3 hours), and a full half+ day of Brad's time, Sunday turned into an amazingly productive day of many small, and not so small, garden projects. Our first task was planting a huge old tree Brad drug home a few weeks ago for a pond snag. With many grunts of effort and Fran fearing both her favorite men would have broken backs, the snag was planted by the pond.

Snag

Now we just wait for the Pileated Woodpeckers to visit.

Pileated Woodpecker

Then an old stone step that wasn't working very well because of spacing and a riser that was too low, was ripped out and a new step was put into place.

Stone Step

Another project we've been working on for a little bit is extending our stream. If two ponds and a stream are good, isn't more stream better? Well, apparently that's what we think, because that's what we're doing. To give Hermione (a beautiful gift from Diane Kendy) a location of greater status, she's been moved in preparation for her new home along the new stream. Then plumbing and digging are being done before putting in the stream's liner. And, of course, the gathering of the rocks needed to create the natural look of a NW stream.

Hermoine & New Stream-in-the-works

Two other projects were worked on too. A retaining wall under the guesthouse and a stone patio, also under the guesthouse, overlooking the pond. Photographs of those two projects will follow. Presently the heating system installation project is being staged in that area so photographs of both would be full of PVC parts and tool boxes and all the stuff needed for plumbing.

Phase II

We are about to begin the second phase of our building project. Although we've been in our new home almost two years, we did not complete some of the important details -- like the solar heating system and our cabinet work. So, coming soon, more building adventures.

Aah! Home!

From Washington to North and South Dakota, via Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, with bike riding at the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene, Hiawatha Trail, Spokane River Trail and George Mickelson Trail. Wandering through small towns, seeing the economic downturn at every stop, yet seeing new pickup trucks everywhere. Enjoying the history, geography, wildlife, Sturgis Bike Rally, terrific camping spots, and an opportunity for Ed to visit with his mom in ND while I enjoyed a seven day retreat at Bismark Lake in SD. I continue to love the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming, especially as the terrain turns to open pasture at 10,000 feet. But the Black Hills are pretty spectacular too. Pretty much the entire trip had us exclaiming as one view after another unfolded.

We savor our trips in our little tent trailer and we savor the return to our home-by-Brad. Despite the fun of the adventure, returning home after traveling for three weeks can't be beat. That breathtaking moment of driving into one's own drive and seeing the place we call home with new and fresh eyes is the moment of our greatest pleasure on the entire trip. What better compliment can we give to our designer-builder than that. Aah! Home!

Garden Appreciation Day!

The garden is young but oh so rewarding.

Front Entry

Soloman's Seal at stream

Birdbath from Brad

Evergreen, native Penstemon

Deciduous Azaleas

Sun Rose

Blue Oat Grass

Thinking about the whole

The amazing thing about watching Brad (dbbrad) design is how he holds the whole project in his head at once. The inside of the building; the exterior; the interior in relationship to the exterior; the building's relationship to the site; the condition of the site and what it needs in terms of contours, water management, privacy. sun and shade; the relationship of indoors to outdoors; how the buildings relate to the other buildings in the neighborhood; the total picture.

Having worked in landscape design for 30 years now, I have rarely seen this design ability to hold-the-whole in a designer's vision. Many designers, (dare I say most?) design with only the interior vision. Other designers have only the exterior vision. But, even more often, designers neglect the site (the total) completely.

How often I arrive at the newly built home to see trash; compaction; unnecessary water problems; thoughtless siting of the home in relation to sun and shade; machine damage to remaining trees; and a complete lack of thought to the relationship of the home to the site. Sometimes the interior works well and even looks great but looks horrible from the exterior with roof lines that don't work or placement of skylights that were seen only from the inside spaces ruining the exterior rhythm. Or, the home faces north with no interior light, or at other times with no play with the light at all.

And then there is the function issue which needs to be a major focus in design. A need that is equal to aesthetics. When a designer thinks only of function one sees mostly a boring building. When a designer thinks only of aesthetics we see it for what it is -- designer ego. For years, for example, I have said I'd never hire a designer to design a kitchen if he/she didn't cook. I have stepped into some kitchens that looked beautiful but made no sense whatsoever in how they functioned. The reverse is true. A good designer can produce both -- function and beauty.

What's so amazing about our new home is how, according to Ed, "it lives like a second skin." And for me, to be more content inside, because of the inside-outside relationship, than I've ever been in a home. We also both still love how our home nestles into the neighborhood as if it's always been there. In fact, it is so integrated that people ask us which buildings are ours and which buildings are the neighbors. Not because of proximity, but because of thoughtful integration.

And, then there is attention to grade, water, ornamental gardens, wildlife, exposure, beauty, automobiles, solar, growing food, accessibility, mystery, light, privacy, and on and on. How does one hold all of these things, and more, in their head to achieve a totally integrated design? I don't know. I would be unable to do it. But, Brad does it. That's his skill and its awesome.

Then add flexibility in using recycled materials in a way that is new and innovative, creating a timeless structure, well, have I already said awesome?