Landscaping Our Cabin Property Part 2

When we purchased our Idaho mountain property there were about seventy large conifers growing on the quarter acre surrounding our small cabin. These beautiful tall evergreens were one of the reasons we decided to buy our cabin. During our inspection before purchasing, we could see a few stumps left from dead trees that had been removed by previous owners, but it appeared the others had been left to grow naturally. They were in various conditions; some looked healthy and strong, some had dead branches, and some appeared to have diseases and/or pests.

Since we had never cared for large conifers before, we decided to consult a professional to guide us. We had noticed some tree care equipment kept at a neighboring property and after googling the company, we gave Randy Acker at Acker Tree Service a call. We walked around the property together, and he tied orange ribbons around the trunks of the trees he thought should be cut down and also on the branches of the ones he thought should be pruned.

He also recommended we call the McCall city arborist, Kurt Wolf, for a tree care consultation. In Boise, the city won't give any advice about trees on private property, so we were pleasantly surprised to get a free consultation from the city of McCall. Kurt is such a nice person, and he spent about an hour walking around our property with me as I took notes. He identified the trees and explained their particular pests and diseases. He also explained the benefits of proper pruning and agreed with Randy Acker about which trees should be cut down because they either couldn't be saved from heavy pest infestations or because they posed a safety hazard.

After our consultation we called Acker Tree Service back and got on Randy's October calendar. The area tree services have more tree work than they can do in McCall, so I felt lucky to have found Randy and his business right around the corner. He's also a great guy and a wonderful neighbor!

This is a google photo of (Rocky Mountain) subalpine fir trees killed by a pest called the Balsam Woolly Adelgid. This pest from Europe worked its way down to our property from Northern Idaho, where it was first identified in 1983.

Kurt Wolf taught us how to identify our subalpine fir trees by the smooth bark. The tree on the right with the big crack is a subalpine fir.  

This was one of our Balsam Woolly Adelgid-infested subalpine fir trees. The arborist told us it would be dead and bare of needles within a year and recommended its removal. Unfortunately, all of our subalpine fir trees are infested and will eventually die. There is nothing that can stop it. We are treating the still relatively healthy ones with Bayer systemic tree care to try and lengthen their lives by keeping them stronger. Some of the trees are huge and still beautiful, so we'd like to keep them as long as possible.

before

These trees are next to our driveway between our cabin and the street. They are dying from a combination of being topped by the Idaho Electric Company and the Balsam Whoolly Adelgid infestation. A google map image shows these trees were strong, healthy and full to the ground in 2007. 

during 

Randy recommended we take these trees along the street out in phases so we can replant half before the other half is gone. 

after

before

The next three trees to be cut down were large subalpine firs that were crowding large healthier, more desirable trees.

during

after

 The McCall city arborist explained to us the importance of allowing plenty of room for growth and air circulation around our big trees. Crowded trees are more susceptible to decline from pests and disease.

before

This subalpine fir tree was crowded in next to three other trees behind our cabin.

during

 After it was cut down, you can see the damage on the tree behind it from overcrowding. When it had more room, that tree dropped its dead needles and now looks healthy again (below.)

after

Acker Tree Service also removed the bottom limbs on all our trees to leave about one foot between the ground and the bottom branches. They removed the big piles of woody debris that were lying all around our property, too. They were able to chip all of it, saving us hours of loading it into the pick up and taking it to be composted at the dump. 

  

before

 We had nine big trees cut down and many others severely pruned of dead branches. The last tree to be cut down was one of our tallest trees, and we were so sad to see it go! As you can see, it had major structural damage from a previous ant infestation, making it a danger to both us and our neighbors. 

during

after

The stump is now all that's left of that majestic towering tree! Since we've learned about the care of our trees, we walk all around our property regularly to check the health and condition of every one, so this will hopefully never happen again.

Making the forest around our cabin healthy again by cutting out damaged trees and branches and reducing overcrowding was a huge job, but one we didn't hesitate to have done. When we bought our property we felt like we took on a sacred responsibility for the health and future of these gentle giants. In return they give us the immeasurable pleasure of their beauty and the music of the wind blowing through their pine needles.

We plan to leave most of our property natural as you see it here, but next time I'll share our plans for replanting where some trees were removed and for adding some plants and flowers right around our little cabin.

See you then!

Landscaping Our Cabin Property Part 1

Our tiny 576 square foot cabin in McCall, Idaho is situated on a flat corner quarter acre lot just inside the city limits. One of the things that made us fall in love with our place is that the property seemed much larger than it is because the cabin takes up so little of it. Also, when we walked all around it we felt like we were in the middle of a forest because there were so many trees.

 When we bought our cabin in the fall of 2016, the sales listing described the landscaping as "natural." During the inspection, as I walked around taking detailed photos of the property, it dawned on me that by "natural" they actually meant there was no landscaping at all. In fact, it was plain that, like our little cabin, the land had been sorely neglected for a long, long time.

As you know, my husband and I are not strangers to home and garden renovation. However, we'd never tackled a landscaping project of this magnitude! That day I counted over seventy large evergreen conifer trees on our property, many of which looked sick and in need of professional care. 

Through these photographs I'm sharing with you what we saw as we walked around our property that day. Luckily, I think we were too focused on taking the photos to ponder much about what we were actually seeing. Otherwise, we would have been freaked out by the sheer magnitude of what needed to be done and we may not have bought our little cabin! At the time, we just focused on the birds singing and the magic of the towering pine trees and nonchalantly filed the rest (the dead tree branches, the sick trees, and the piles of yard debris) away for the future.

Our property

So what do you think? Would you have gone running when you saw the sorry state of the property we were planning to purchase? Luckily, we didn't. Instead, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. 

I have to admit, that first fall we were getting a little discouraged when it felt like we weren't making much progress on our yard work. We hadn't even found a space in the trees we felt would make a good outdoor gathering spot for a fire pit. Then, one morning after the first snow, and as we were preparing to drive back to Boise, I jumped out of the car to take one last photo. I noticed the snow had fallen in an area beside the cabin where there were no trees, and I stood in the center of that spot and looked up at the blue sky above - through a perfect round opening in the trees big enough for the smoke from a fire pit to escape.

I'd found our spot!

We've spent many happy hours sitting there since. Next time, I'll tell you about the professionals we consulted and hired to teach us about our trees and to help us turn our sad and neglected property into a healthy forest again.

Till then, have a wonderful day!

  

Cabin Update

Before it gets much more into spring, it seems like a good idea to catch up on a cabin update. I haven't shared any cabin news since last fall when we replaced our leaking cabin roof, and I'm happy to report we had a nice snug dry winter inside - no leaks!

We made it up to McCall from Boise five times over the winter.

 

Our drive takes us through a deep canyon along the Payette River Scenic Byway.

 The canyon opens up into Round Valley and then Long Valley, both surrounded by high mountains. The beautiful drive up to McCall is one of the best parts of visiting our cabin.

 Long Valley ends at Payette Lake which freezes over during the deepest cold of winter. A favorite time is when we crest the hill into McCall and have our first look at the lake. The ski runs of Brundage Mountain are visible high up on the other side of the lake.

 We turn right at the lake and our cabin is just a few more minutes down this road. It takes us two hours and ten minutes to drive the 110 miles from our home in Boise to the cabin. 

 Since having our electricity updated last summer, we were able to put up our first strings of outdoor lights for Christmas.

 And even though we were only there a couple of times in December, I couldn't resist putting up a tiny tree with lights and drugstore decorations. It was so cozy!

 One of our favorite restaurants in McCall is at The Shore Lodge, on the other side of town. We spent one special winter evening enjoying drinks and dinner here. 

 This was the view of the lake from our Shore Lodge table just before the sun went down.

 Our winter fun at the cabin includes walking across the street to the McCall City Golf Course, where the trails are groomed and Tucker is welcomed off leash. (I never have to put my husband on a leash.)

 We also snowshoe on groomed cross country ski trails in Ponderosa State Park, which is just down the street from our cabin. Tucker's favorite trail is Rover's Roundabout where he can run free. 

 My snowshoeing days came to an end when I had surgery for a torn bicep tendon and rotator cuff in February. Scraping the old flaking paint off the cabin last fall for painting was a big contributor to my shoulder injuries, so guess who won't be doing any more of that!?  

  The snow was melting by the time I could visit the cabin again. 

 And with the melting snow, the work on our little cabin began again. The first spring job we scheduled was having the old attic insulation removed and replaced. We discovered the back of our corner property has a nice flat open area squeezed between the trees into which trucks can maneuver for easier access to our back door. They parked there and snaked a hose all the way through the back door to the attic to suction out the old blown-in insulation. They also removed all kinds of wood and useless stuff from up there that was hiding under the insulation, so now it's a nice clean slate to fill back up with fluffy new insulation. 

 While they were removing the insulation, I was able to get the first coat of paint on the front door trim and screen door. I said I wouldn't scrape anymore, but I didn't say I wouldn't paint! :)

 As happens so often when renovating old buildings, halfway through insulating the attic we ran into a big old snafu. When the old insulation was removed, we got the first good look from above at the damage done to the ceiling from our old leaking roof. The contractor was now convinced the weight of the new insulation could cause the weakened crumbling drywall to come crashing down into our cabin. We could end up with a cabin full of crumbled drywall and powdery insulation flying everywhere!

We had planned on planking our cracked and stained ceilings a few years down the road, but the road sped up to meet us that day! The workers went home, and my husband spent the next two weekends installing furring strips to the joists to hold up the old drywall and the weight of the new insulation. It looks like we'll be planking our ceiling sooner rather than later. (I think I'll replace that light fixture with a cute chandelier while I'm at it.)

Today, the new insulation is finally being blown into our stronger attic. I'm relieved to have the old once-wet insulation gone, and we've been told the newer product will make our cabin more cozy warm. My husband is up there today overseeing everything, and he just texted me this photo of the first daffodils that I planted last fall beginning to bloom. Spring has arrived in the mountains. 

 Meanwhile, I'm down in Boise out in the shed painting the cabin shutters.

Next on our list is to finish the exterior painting we started too late last fall. Freezing mountain temperatures stopped us partway there, and there's still a lot to do. This is my photoshopped vision of our painted cabin and garage/shed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will be finished soon!

Also on our list for this year is having our very awkward crawlspace cleaned out and a vapor barrier installed, grading the soil away from our foundation, and doing some landscaping. Maybe we'll get to the kitchen floor, counters, and back splash, but that might just be wishful thinking since we'll now also be planking the ceiling. 

And of course, in between, we'll be having lots of summer fun at the cabin! 

See you there (here!)

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