The Woodchip Pile

At some point in late August, PGE left us a note that they needed access to our backyard trees. They would trim them around their wires at no cost to us, and would even provide free woodchips if so desired! We like free, so we said yes.

Oh my the god, the pile they left us... James pulled up in his car just as they were leaving and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. How in the hell would we ever use all of this? What have we done?!

It ended up great, in the end. James went door to door, meeting some new neighbors and calling on ones we've already met, offering them all the woodchips their little hearts desired. Three of our neighbors ended up taking us up on the offer! It was a great bonding moment, actually.

I'm estimating that all in all, it was at least 200 wheelbarrows-full. At one point we actually had to knock it down and spread it out, because it was so hot it was smoking. The grass is still burnt and ugly where the pile sat. We ended up using maybe 1/5 of the pile for ourselves (in the side yard and along the deck/jungle border).

The side yard isn't done yet, but you get the idea.

ALSO: We have a piano and treadmill now! Now that the rains have arrived, it's great having a fully-functional gym. The piano is from my mom. It is our family piano, and I haven't lived with it for over a decade. Seeing it in my new house really, really makes it feel like home.