Termite Damage - and my personal feelings about nature in all its glory
Since termites can be more of a problem in warmer climates, I have Terminix check my house and property every six months. So far, so good - but they do spray for ants and they are not a problem.
My neighbors, especially the ones that go by every day walking their dogs, tell me how beautiful my house is starting to look. It is almost done. I must admit that the siding, roof, new outdoor lighting, shutters, etc. do look good. It was beginning to look shabby. If you want to keep your property looking good, you have to be vigilant with maintenance. The house is 22-23 years old and had Masonite siding. That siding surely went to pot. The windows and doors didn't look too hot, either. And, of course, the back deck and wooden screen doors (that the puppy dog chewed) looked pretty bad.
All that is being fixed - costs money, but I will enjoy it myself - and it will add to the value of this property when it has to be sold. Unfortunately, I can't stay here forever.
My neighbors are putting in elaborate, albeit expensive, landscaping. Their newly constructed homes built downhill on the mountain have severe ground erosion problems. Developer either don't know, or don't care, what will result from their denuding the forests on these steep pieces of land. The roots of enormous trees and 30 ft. bushes, that have entwined over the years and that hold the ground together, are torn (unceremoniously) out of the ground and hauled away to be mulched. They assure you that they will replant trees and bushes - and, they do - sort of. But the small trees and bushes they replace the huge towering forest with can in no way do the job that their forebears were doing.
And, that is why - my heart is heavy when I see these forested mountains being denuded. Landslides and floods result when Mother Nature is fooled around with. Sad - but I guess this is the price we pay for "progress?".
Luckily, my trees and bushes have grown strong and tall in the years since my house was built. And, I am sure that many of them were the original fauna - for they are huge - their trunks and branches reaching high into the sky.
So, I do not have a cultivated yard. No, mine is a tangle of native forest land. But, that's just the way I like it. The squirrels and birds and deer appreciate it and scurry around in the mulch that the fallen leaves has formed through the many seasons that have passed. And, I revel in the fact that I don't have a lawn mower - and have no desire to be a slave to one, ever again.
I have become completely mountain-oriented. Of course, I have always been an environmentalist - at heart. But, since I have lived here, with the beauties of nature surrounding me, I have become ever so much more appreciative of the gifs that have been bestowed upon us. I feel that we must appreciate and treasure this legacy that we have inherited; and do all that we possibly can to help preserve it.
