Picket Fence and Bees

With the help of my father-in-law, Mike, I was able to get the picket fence erected around the driveway. I built the fence off site and then disassembled it into 8 sections for transport. We began by reassembling the sections and placing them in the holes I dug earlier in the week. We started about 8:30am and were in the shade.

Carol from the Cottage Garden II came over as we were setting up. She let us know the beekeeper was coming by at 11:30 to take care of the bees that were in the tree between my yard and hers. The only way to get to the bee-side of the tree was from my yard. Mike and I wondered how that would effect us since the tree was only about 20 feet away. By 11:00 we had the fence all in place, all that was needed was cement poured into the post holes. We decided to take lunch and come back in about an hour and a half to finish that part.

When we got back from lunch we didn't notice anything different around the bee tree. The bees were buzzing around more that normal, but they weren't really swarming. It didn't look like the beekeeper came so I went next door and asked Carol if he came. She said he did and that he said to stay away from the area for a couple of days. Well that was not an option since the last time I left my picket fence unsecured it walked off. I told Mike what she said and we pondered it for a few minutes as to what to do. We decided just to keep one eye on pouring concrete and one eye on the bees. Long story short we didn't have any problems. We got all the cement poured and called it a day.

House Idea

These two graphics should give you an idea of what the house will look like inside and out. I'm only at the first stage of planning. I sketched out the floorplan and googled "two story craftsman". I came across this house and it looked very close to the house I tore down. I liked the balcony especially on this house. I originally thought about a semi wrap around porch, but I like this better. Just imagine this house blue and this is what you can expect to see. Click to enlarge.

Variance Approved

I went before the Board that has the authority to grant building set-back variances. The hearing began at 6:00, by 6:30 I was approved for the set-backs I requested. The Board members asked a few questions about the plans for the property. I gave a brief overview of what I was planning to build and what I'd like to do.