Thursday, October 15, 2015

California Dreaming

Well, its not a dream but a reality.  We are now living in beautiful Trinity County, true Northern California.  No, not Tahoe or San Francisco, but further north, almost to Oregon.

In June, we purchased a home in a quiet neighborhood.  Our small 2 bedroom home sits in a meadow on a long rectangular 13 acres within a narrow north-south valley with a creek that would flow year round if it were not for the drought. On the east end of the lot, is a steep oak-ponderosa tree covered slope.  The west end of the lot is a moderately steep oak-fir-ponderosa covered slope.  The meadow is a mix of pasture and native grasses, mostly dry and brown.  On the south end of the lot are two gardens.  The first is a neglected French garden of lavender, hazelnuts, and butterfly bush.  The second is an orchard with apple trees originally trained to be espalier but have been neglected so they are wild shrubs.  The entrance and parking area is also landscaped with lavender, butterfly bush, ornamental maples, hazelnuts, and rosemary.

Aerial of the center of the property.  Creek is on the right in the trees.

The house is a cedar sided cottage with a green metal roof.  The main floor is an open floor plan containing kitchen, living, and dining space. Upstairs are the two bedrooms separated by a bathroom.  Both bedrooms have a large window placed on opposite sides of the house, allowing for great cross drafting.  Outside, a covered porch wraps nearly 3/4 the house.



Our water source is from a spring on the west slope and it is nearly a trickle so conservation is huge.  We do have a pump house to get irrigation water from the creek, but with the little water in the creek, we choose not to. 

And that is what we are starting with. 

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