Friday, July 3, 2020

answers to your questions about the mulberry tree ~ and a new project


Hi everyone ~ there were a lot of questions in my last two posts about my neighbor and her mulberry tree that's dropping mulberries all over our patio and walkway, so I thought I'd start out by answering those questions.

Here's me one morning last week, surveying the mulberry damage before cleaning it up. Notice the patio is now cleared off except for one chair and the grill. That one chair has now been moved into the back yard with the rest of the furniture.


Can you attach a big net from the roof of your house to the fence?
No, we can't because the fence isn't ours. It's the neighbor's fence, so we can't attach anything to it. Also, the berries fall along the entire length of the house, not just over this patio area. There wouldn't be any netting big enough to cover the area.

When do the mulberries stop falling?
They fall for 4-5 weeks.

Do you know if she uses the berries?
No, she doesn't. They are all over her yard, walkway, staircase to her deck, and the deck itself. Obviously, she and her daughter and granddaughter (that live with her) don't care.

I wonder if moving might be in your future?
Not in our immediate future. We've lived here 30 years and have spent a lot of money these past few years fixing up the house. Housing in our town is inexpensive. If we sold this house now, there is nowhere else we could move in the Chicago area that we could afford. We can't move out of the Chicago area, as Brian still has five more years at his job until he retires.

Could you set up your patio table and chairs elsewhere in your yard?
There is nowhere else to put them. We live on a very small piece of property. The set is currently in the back yard, but it looks "funny" back there in the middle of the grass.

Later PS: I received a comment and another email about trimming the neighbor's tree branches that overhang our property. Yes, this has been done several times. I talked about it in my previous posts. It barely did any good. This is a huge tree that even with trimmed branches, manages to drop mulberries all over our property simply because it is so tall and wide.

On a more positive note, Brian and I worked on totally clearing out the guest room yesterday. It's currently yellow, which I initially loved, but after about eight years, I'm tired of it. It's too bright for me and I also think it brings out the yellow undertones in the wood floors, which I don't like. Painters are here right now, painting the room a cream color. They are also painting that ugly, faux wood window trim white.



Everything from the guest room...the mattress, bed frame, dresser, desk, bookshelf, pillows, bedding, curtains, blinds, everything from the closet, plants and knick knacks...are now in the tiny room next door, which used to be Tim's room and is now Brian's office.


Somehow, Brian managed to squeeze into the room to get his work clothes out of the closet.


After a long day yesterday, this is what we both felt like! Besides cleaning out the guest room, we also did yard work and washed windows. But washing the kitchen window proved to be a bit disastrous...


We have windows that tilt in for cleaning and long story short, something happened where one of the hinge pins inside the track broke off and Brian couldn't get the window back in. After fooling around with it for a long time and hearing a lot of swearing, I texted our nice neighbor that lives on the other side of us, to see if he could help. He came over and helped Brian for about 45 min. I was losing hope as they were working, especially as this neighbor is a DIYer who put in windows on his house and is also a roofer. I thought they were just going to have to leave it and put plastic over the window until we could get a window repair person out here. We certainly couldn't leave the window open as we're running the AC constantly. It's been 90F here and will be even hotter this coming week. 


They finally got the window temporarily put back into place and Brian called Home Depot where we got our windows from. We won't even be getting a call back from a service person for 3-5 business days. Good thing we're not living with plastic over an open window!

Have a wonderful weekend and a safe Fourth of July.




11 comments:

  1. First of all, thank you for answering those questions! I should have known that you two would have thought of every conceivable solution over the years if there was one. I hate this for you because I know how much pleasure you take from being in your garden.

    The guest room will feel brand spanking new! If you remember, we had yellow walls in our kitchen and family room at our old house--for 12 years. I was so sick of it but painting would have been a major job. After we moved though, Courtney had it painted a beautiful blue-gray and it is lovely. Anyway, you were so smart to carry everything out before the painters came in, not just where they could work without getting paint on things but it will be so helpful to bring things in one at a time until it's just the way you want it. And then you'll have so much fun decorating it! I'm so glad the men were able to get the window in place! I love the tilt in windows for cleaning, all of ours are like that except the huge old one over the kitchen sink, but it is a two person job for us now to clean the big ones. And if your window was over a counter then it must have been even more awkward to try to fix.

    Isn't it odd how fixing up one thing in the house suddenly expands to other jobs needed? Happy Fourth to you and Brian!

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  2. Oh no, you should read my post today Melanie - I think it pertains to you re: juggling the balls thrown to us!
    That woman next door is an unthoughtful neighbor by sound of it. Those berries are so messy and I feel for you and Brian. Isn't it possible to cut the branches overhanging your property? We can do that here - check your city ordinance regarding that. Years back our then neighbor, whose driveway adjoins ours with grassy strip between, requested that perhaps we could take down a persimmon tree between us - he was tired of stepping on the fallen fruits in the dark and messing up his carpet. . . . . .as were we ours! We thought it was his tree so were only too happy to have it taken down!

    Hope you enjoy your room makeover - nice flooring BTW. We have the same problem with limited space when re-doing a room. Have lived in this smaller house 34 years. Now they knock our small houses down when they go up for sale and build million dollars mansions!

    Have a good Fourth. Stay well and be safe.
    Hugs - Mary

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  3. I'm the same way . . . every time I do one thing, it seems to create more jobs than I anticipated. I hope your window problem turns out to be a quick fix (Oh, I guess it's too late for that) an inexpensive fix.
    I love that photo of your cat . . . it truly got the point across of how you were feeling :)
    Looking forward to seeing your new paint in the bedroom.
    Happy 4TH of July!
    Connie :)

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  4. So glad you got the window closed! Have a lovely 4th.

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  5. I can't wait to see the room when it's finished. I love how you make rooms look so cozy. :)
    Happy 4th of July to you and Brian!

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  6. That Mulberry Tree has got to be a frustration for you. So sorry. I love all the painting and fixing up you are doing. Hope you can get your window fixed soon. Have a good 4th of July!

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  7. Well, it certainly seems like you've thought of everything. That's so frustrating. The only other thing I could think of would be a freestanding pergola that you could grow something on top of or a tarp (my sister has this set up), but that would be costly to have built in a custom size and messy on top. And it would block your sunshine. Hmmm. I guess I'm no help at all. ;) Happy 4th!

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  8. Too bad about the mess that tree makes. Sure limits your outdoor decorating. I think you meant "housing in our town is expensive", not inexpensive. I'm sure your mind was wishing the opposite! Glad you're having your room painted at least. Since the window is all messed up and you can't relax in your yard. Happy 4th. As usual, I'll be staying in.
    Brenda

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  9. I am so sorry about that mess every single summer. Your freshly painted room will look wonderful. And I am so glad that window got fixed because it is plenty hot here and a window open until a repair person could get here would be a disaster. Stay safe.

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  10. I like the light finish on your hardwoods. I caught a glimpse of the old-style dresser in your 'storage' area -- that's going to look so nice. Beautiful piece! I get a kick out of your cat photos, here and in Instagram! Hope you had a happy 4th:)

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  11. Hi Melanie! I'm glad you were able to get the window to work well enough for now. It is so much work to shift rooms. Way to go!
    Those mulberries all over your property sound very frustrating.

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