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.

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?

Storm Water Management

In this time of municipal jurisdictions thinking surface water is a liability, we are exceedingly pleased with how we've handled our roof water. The larger pond overflows into the wetland (Picture 1) where, despite some torrential downpours of late, has handled, with room to spare, all of our roof water. All three roofs feed the upper pond or creek directly, then flow down the creek to the lower pond. Once the lower pond is at capacity the water overflows into the wetland. The second photo illustrates the guesthouse roof water flowing into the creek. The other two buildings are piped underground directly to the upper pond.

Very heavy rain during the night and well into the morning resulted in the deepest wetland collection I'd observed. At 11:00 a.m. the wetland, at it's deepest, was 6.5" and covered an area 7' by 15'. By 12:00 there was little or no rain and the stream had stopped flowing. The wetland was already going down. By 3:00 the wetland was 2" deep at its deepest and measured 5' by 13'. At no time did we come even close to capacity. These results were in saturated ground as we've had a very rainy few weeks.

The water in the stream in this photo (below) is all rain water. The circulating pump mostly runs in the summer when there is little rain.

Birds have been thoroughly enjoying drinking and bathing at the ponds' edges, especially during their migration this fall. On occasion we'll see as many as 20 or 30 birds at a time accessing the pond.

Mulching is complete.

In two days the job is done and what a huge, huge improvement over the ugly black plastic. When the black plastic was removed the weeds looked pretty dead. Some of the weeds had large tap roots and we weren't certain those tap roots were dead so the hog mat under the chips was necessary to complete the weed-kill job. My garden of 16 years on Saratoga Road never saw an herbicide, pesticide or chemical fertilizer. This garden on Grace Lane will never see one either. Mulching is my answer to weeds and soil improvement. Using the right plants and encouraging a well-balanced habitat handles the diseases and insects.

Updated garden and building shots

Stream under bridge

Entry garden with morning light

Main Living and Guesthouse looking north

Main Living and Guesthouse looking SW

Spring is here -- sort of...

When I got up yesterday morning it was raining. You can see the guesthouse roof water (on the left) spilling into our stream. But, an hour later, it was snowing. We ended up getting about an inch of so that stuck around all day. What's with this April weather?

Drainage

One of my favorite methods of handling water, pests and home maintenance is to put drain rock under the building overhangs. This allows access for easy window washing, painting, and other types of cleanup. I'm not a fan of landscape cloth in the garden but for this use I find it useful to keep the area weed and silt free.

Under the front entry path a snake-like catch basin for water running off the driveway is installed. With drain tile and drain rock the entire pathway becomes a catch basin. The drain tile has been wrapped with landscape cloth to keep it from silting up. The snake drainage ends at a true catch basin.

Ah, spring.

Yesterday Ed and I went to Lynnwood to order our closet system and Brad went skiing. When we returned home, Ed looked out the window, and burst out laughing. Our pond had an air mattress floating on it. Gretchen, our neighbor, and I have been talking about floating on the pond come the warm days of summer. There was the tool. Not quite warm enough yet, but Gretchen's moving, so she left us a going away gift. I can't wait for enough warmth to put it to use. The days are now getting up into the 50's but the nights are still very cool. Last night it got down to about 34 and there was frost on the ground this morning. Nevertheless, spring is in the air. I have my peas plus some lettuce and kale planted. Potatoes are cut, the eyes are sprouting and soon they will be in the ground.

Stream from tip to toe...

Our stream is largely finished from the headwaters to the outflow. A few days ago Brad and Austin moved the last three large boulders into place. Since then, smaller rocks, gravel and plants have been tucked in here and there. We're also in the process of placing lights which is a tricky, tricky business. We view this area from the top, bottom and bridge so placing the lights so they don't zing you is quite challenging. We're anxiously awaiting spring and the new growth to pop forth on the plantings. The cushioning is very much needed to move from the man made look to a more natural mountain stream look.

Snow on Whidbey

We're having about a 10 day cold spell, complete with snow. It is beautiful. The timing isn't perfect for our project but it's difficult to complain surrounded with this much beauty.

Garden Shots

Pond Planting

This weekend we added stones, a nurse log, licorice fern and sedges (have edges) to the edges of the pond and to the fen.

The Pond

Our three buildings will dump their roof water into a creek that will come down under a bridge between the guesthouse and main living buildings. The water will spill into a pond. Any storm overflow will enter a "wetland" area approximately 12x12 that will be planted with native wetland plants. All site water will stay on our property and will serve as wildlife habitat. Additionally, the water will become an aesthetic focus and view from two of our three buildings. In water shortage periods the pond water will be available for irrigating the vegetable garden. The creek will be a dry creek except when it rains. If we decide to use a circulating pump in the future it will be solar.

Brad and Fran on the felt under liner.

Josh, Brad and Dan moving the liner into place

Josh, Dan and Brad spreading out the liner

Why Separate Buildings?

In our design we decided every room must have dual functions. We'd use the sun to offset our need for full use of the power grid; we'd manage our site water efficiently; we'd build small; we'd make use of recycled materials whenever possible; we're be careful with the land and repair construction damage with native plants or food crops; and we'd create wildlife habitat. In that equation, people ask, "so, why three buildings?"

That's a very good question because three buildings are less efficient than one and efficiency has been a driving design force. However, with each room functioning in multiple ways, and only 860+ sq. ft. of heated space, we knew we'd need room from one another. Each of us would need private space to make noise without damaging our relationship. Ed loves loud rock n' roll. I only like it a little. I love loud opera, Ed likes it only a little. The operative word here is "loud". I rarely vacuum our apartment because I can't play opera loud, and, in my mind, that is the only way to vacuum or clean house -- opera and incense. Our fellow apartment dwellers wouldn't like either. They'd like Ed's music even less. With separate buildings we can cut loose.

Also, we find as we age our sleep patterns are strange, with one or the other of us prowling the house at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. We entertain ourselves as best we can without bothering our sleeping partner or we search for another bed so we can toss and turn to our heart's content. We call it "sleeping around". With our separate buildings we can use our computers; listen to music; turn on the lights to read; make jam; or even take a bath without bothering one another. And with house guests we can all have wonderful visits and then retire to separate spaces -- small, but separate spaces.

Our retreats are not just "heated" retreats. Each building also has outdoor covered areas for enjoying inclement weather without getting soaking wet. Being forced inside just because it's raining is painful to me because I so love being in the weather, but don't much want to always get wet. Outdoor covered areas expand our home significantly without adding to our heating costs.

Accordingly we have 2000 sq. ft. of roof area, with only 860 sq. ft. of it heated The summer months will turn our main living space into one seamless indoor/outdoor room. Even our kitchen is designed to partly move outside during the warm weather, with carts we can use for food preparation on the kitchen patio.

Our new home, to the extent possible given building codes and the like, turns the average home's design on its ears. We definitely are not building the realtor's or banker's dream home of a three car garage, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, entry hall, dining room, living room, and huge kitchen. We didn't build for someone else, but for us. I've always rejected the usual resale argument and created special, if not normal, homes. Resale has always been swift and financially rewarding. Will it be with this home? Who knows but we don't plan on that being our problem. At our ages, this is the home we hope to end our lives in, barring the need for, God forbid, a nursing home. However, I suspect, given the popularity of living small, with solar and in town, resale will not be a problem. Others will determine that though (I hope!).

On another note, when we purchased our carriage doors (two are used to close up the shop area) there was a set of three available. We only needed two, but purchased all three because that's how they came and it's difficult to locate carriage door. We'd planned on selling the third. Today I'm off to paint the third carriage door because we now have found the perfect use for it. Stay tuned.

Pond Edges

Travis created very neat edges for securing the edges of the pond liner.

Stream Boulders

Josh, Dianne, Bill, Mike, Travis, Dan and Brad do some heavy stream boulder lifting. Leverage help from up on the roof; ropes, knots, muscles and team work moved some pretty heavy boulders.

Construction Gardening

So often in my landscaping work I arrive at a construction site where there are several, if not all of the following problems: dumped concrete, compacted soil, mounds of trash, fallen trees, trashed understory plantings, piles of lumber, sheet rock and other building materials, noxious weeds in the clearings, machine damage, and cars and trucks helter-skelter. The clients, having purchased a beautiful piece of land, are excited about their new home but almost hysterical about the condition of their land. They are also overwhelmed when they look at it and ponder how they're going to make it beautiful again.

With that in mind, when we began our new building project, one of our first actions was to plant the edges of the property and seed grass every place else. Right up until the first piece of machinery, we had a beautiful in-town park. Once the machines prepared for utilities and foundations, much of the grass was gone, but the edges of the property continued to be lovely gardens.

After the final machine departed in December we've raked and worked the soil to enable us to plant as much garden as we can while staying out from under workers' feet. All automobiles are kept at the edge of the property. Our piles of recycled building materials are pretty consolidated and we reuse all our scraps so our waste material piles are small or being saved for fire wood. Our actual trash is minimal and hauled off frequently. We recycle all aluminum, copper, metal, glass and plastic. Weeding is an ongoing task.

Corn grows near the main living construction. From the neighboring road, because of our planted berm, it almost seems like there is no construction underway. And for lunch or an end of the day break, there are cool, green places to sit and relax. The vegetable garden is fully functional and feeding us from time to time. Just last evening we had wonderful steamed greens with our own onions, beets and zucchini over rice.

Although our building program is taking us quite a while to complete, it will be complete with much of the landscaping in place. We will have a pond, stream, greenhouse, vegetable garden, and all the edges landscaped. We will be able to move into both home and garden at once avoiding the panic I see on my clients faces when they look at their beautiful home sitting on damaged land and with every ounce of budget used up on the building.

Lupin Meadow

On the east side of our property, where we had the wildflowers last summer, the lupin have come back in great glory. Seeding wildflowers is a delightful way to control construction compaction, erosion and mud.

Mulching, mulching, mulching!

The gardens to the east of the house are happening too. The native plants, installed last year, have been recently mulched with chips. The steeper areas are mulched with straw to both control the weeds and improve the tilth of the soil. The bench is presently sitting in the future wetland (or pond's winter overflow) area.

Working the Land

The pond has been getting raked and refined as we prepare to place the liner. To the far left you can see the SE corner of the guesthouse. The ferns in the foreground were planted last week.