Oh me, oh my, oh my shed. Here is the best before pic I had, and I use the term “best” very loosely. The lighting here is a little off; it’s less yellow in real life. But you get the idea.
Backyard as seen from the breakfast nook. Fenced and backs up to a park.
My shed was nearly covered with pittosporum bushes. They were very tall, growing up under the eaves of the shed and over the roof. They had to be trimmed. They should have been trimmed before the last frost, but they actually got trimmed last week.
- In all of its glory
Oh my god, that shed looks even worse. I didn’t know that was possible. The overgrown shrubs were doing me a favor – who knew? So, let’s start at the beginning. There used to be a big tree growing to the left of the shed on the fenceline. That tree came down earlier this year and was ground into a pile of amazing mulch, which you can see at the base of the freshly planted magnolia bush.
There used to be a piece of trim on the left of the door frame, but that piece just fell off when I tugged on it. There is damage from ants and god knows what else on the frame of this door.
It looks kind of messy inside, but this is actually fairly well organized. And I’m in the middle of digging beds and such, so cut me some slack, OK?
The inside – oh the humanity!
But you can see in the center of the photo, that sliver of light blue? That’s not a plastic cone – why would I have a plastic cone? That is a tarp covering the back of the shed, because the walls have separated, come off the foundation, and sunk down. If you scroll up to the first couple of pictures, you can see that the foundation is just cement blocks. But if you come around to the back:
You don’t see those blocks at all! Very bad news, bears, bad news indeed. That bottom board will crumble if you poke at it – it’s been damaged by termites. There is not an active termite infestation, this is just damage from an old infestation. But, geez, what a downer. I had been entertaining hopes that this old shed could be saved. My delightful handyman and I had talked about just wrapping it with new siding and repainting – a facelift.
But after looking at the damage, that didn’t seem prudent. I have been hating this tarp-covered shed since before I was even looking to buy a house, because this faces the park behind the house, and I walked the dogs there. Ugh. Another option handyman and I thought about was moving the shed to a new foundation to shore that up, but there is so much damage, that won’t work, either.
So say your goodbyes to the shed. Its time has come, and its time has gone. Handyman and I don’t have a timeline set, but this old baby won’t last the summer. And when it is gone, I might turn the area left between the bushes into a little hideaway place to sit, like a little secret garden. We’ll see!
And please do admire the clover blooming all over my grass. Clover is good at fixing nitrogen into the soil, and when it is growing in your grass, it is a sign that your soil is nitrogen-deficient. The yellow leaves on the bushes are actually saying the same thing. I’m slowly, slowly working on improving the soil in my yard, but until I get there, I’m not rushing the clover out, because that stuff is working for me! Source for my nitrogen info is here.
Exhibit 1: Sterling Silver Anatomically Correct Heart Locket. I’ve seen this one in person. Absolutely stunning, and heavy! Worth every penny of its $310 asking price.
A Homely Little 1970s Home 