The Purpose
In the previous post, we learned that I purchased a piece of land at an airpark in California. The purpose of that purchase was to eventually build my retirement house, also known as the “forever house”.
I still have a few years of work ahead of me before I retire, I thought. The property needed some taxes paid, and grass cut. Ah, cutting the grass… The local fire department is super aggressive, and is sending me these very threatening postal mails. They claim the weeds on my property are now taller than 1/2 inch and need to be cut. I am ignoring them, as these letters are a waste of taxpayers’ money. I am going to have the weeds cut, but I am not going to cut them every weekend. I live about an hour away by airplane, and I don’t have a shed to store the mower, so I need to pay someone to cut the grass.
But, I digress. This is going to be my retirement home, and I will build it in maybe 7-8 years. My offspring will be out of college, and I will move there then.
The Interim Years
Nothing major has happened on the property over three and a half years since the purchase. I removed some gray pines that were essentially weeds on the property. I planted some oleanders, so that they would grow tall and provide some privacy from the neighboring townhouses. And yes, I had the grass cut, heh.
Irrigation Trouble
I needed some irrigation for the oleanders. The property has city water connected, so I ran the hose from the spigot to the oleander bushes, and installed drip irrigation to conserve water. It turned out the spigot had no water. The water meter was buried under a few inches of soil, apparently untouched for over thirty years. I had to replace the water pressure regulator, as it clogged and would not work.
Pruning Oaks
There are some beautiful, tall California Oak (Quercus agrifolia) trees on the property. At one time, I had to have these trees topped, as they interfered with the air corridor around the airport. I ensured that only minimal height was lost, and that the trees would survive.
