Is there a house back there? How do I get too it? I just came over the crosswalk (built wide enough for city shoppers or a wheelchair race) to a dead end. [that abrupt stop is problem #4 or 5] I want to visit my pals in their new house beyond - yes that is them waving a welcome from the second floor deck - but how do I get up there from here? [that is problemo uno] I do not want to walk up the handsome turf drive, that is a service zone and I may get run over by a service van or the fuel oil delivery. What is the alternative offered by the good folks on the deck? Here are a few avenues to follow toward a solution. You take multiple ideas, run them by an audience of a gathering of the entire family, even regular visitors, yes, even your mother-in-law (it might be a wise decision to include your uphill neighbor to the group - and your insurance agent) - and present your case so the jury can decide what direction or directions to follow. This may take a while - go get a drink and turn down the TV. a. There may not be any topsoil to save across your front yard to save, but, if there is you want to save it, as it has value to the future vigor of the growies. You might stockpile it on the left lane of your drivelawn. b. You have previously put an ad in the local shoppers handout offering free fill to your neighbors. Your contractor will load the neighbors trucks on a given day, prearranged. c. Why am I doing this, you may ask, I'm just the visitor. Sorry, I guess I should just return to offering advise, not writing a tale of the future. Essentially, I suggest you (the homeowner) do 3, 4, or 6 projects. First: Basically remove the entire mountainside between where the former dune crossing was removed, over to where the driveway will be. Second: Work the hillside into a stable attractive natural environment, attractive to the visitor, the passerby, the neighborhood, and the homeowner and his dog. Third: Install a driveway with turnaround/parking under the trees. Four: Install a charming pedestrian entry sequence from curb to hugs at the front door. Are we in agreement so far? My initial thought, which is all you will get today, fortunately, is to enter straight in, then carve a circular bay toward your uphill neighbor, then straight on toward the house again, then another circular bay to include the homestead area. The easiest and most expensive, and least desirable is a series of retaining walls. You don't want them to exceed 5 or 6 feet as they tend to show their burden after years, in spite of footings and tiebacks. And, you lose your natural setting that you came here for. (and the deer don't like them either) A series of steep plant covered slopes, then swales, then level areas, then more steep slopes, swales and level areas, until you reach the bottom swale, level area and entrance corridor, then planting, then driveway. Simple huh! You want more detail, send me an email. If I can keep my advise to the written word and avoid liability, my advise is free (and worth every penny). Oh, I forgot problem 4 or 5. Let's put a welcoming area at the end of the crosswalk. It is so bold, it cries out for an ending, perhaps a little grass terrace until you get back onto your property, and then some planting, a postlight, your house number, and a cellphone charger before starting the journey onward. Quite a challenge for a young couple - make it fun if you can, and take your time. Bring your guests pleasantly from the parking bay to your door up the new driveway, while you develop your new hobby: today's nightmare becomes the wonderland of tomorrow covered with birds and squirrels and deer and that black bear and her cub, for an exciting future, as viewed from the second floor porch and within. Might set some trees out by the street, so the end of your view is not the other end of the crosswalk. Enjoy the challenge and its rewards. And maintain enough insurance! cascio.offsite@gmail.com

Except for the furniture, this is what the dining room looked like before and after. The table we have now is only a temporary table (we used to use it at the cabin because it folds down to nothing and stores the chairs, so it's not exactly trendy, but it's something we can use until time to move. New, light, pulled down wallpaper border, new paint, new trim, new doors, widened doorway to the kitchen, new floor, some electrical work and a LOT of damaged wall work. Before and after (sadly, the color looks a bit lemony in these photos…..it's really a beautiful buttery color. So lovely that I'm having one of the rooms in my new house painted this color even though I don't normally like yellow rooms):

Just a comment about the tree under/over/through your deck. I am concerned that the rootball may not be getting enough moisture on the house side. It will be evident if you got early leaf browning this fall, which may indicate that the roots and branches are not in balance, due to lack of a good drink of water. When you shovel the snow off the deck and walkways, you might throw it under the deck to melt there in the spring and develop new root growth, which you can augment during the season with an occasional hour-long sprinkling. Periodic deck washing, without chemicals, will also benefit your special tree. Think about what you pour on your deck, as it will end up in the root system of your beauty above. Analyze first, then plan

When we moved into our house, we had some of the same problems that you have. Back and side yard neighbors are higher than we are, and the lot sloped towards the house. The previous owners had filled in the original swale between us and our neighbors. We re-dug it like this at the side of the house. Where it says "water" is where the lot drains now. The concrete slab walkway and the ditch are each about 3 feet wide. The swale is at least a foot deep. At the back of the house, we piled the excavated soil against the house, which created a swale that we covered with a low deck. That swale drains to the other side of the house, which still had its original drainage swale. For your yard, I wonder if you could do something similar at the side where your trash area is now. I think that the ditches you have been digging just haven't been deep or wide enough.