Spit Bugs and Deer Repellant

There are a couple fun new Garden Articles on one of the Shelton Land & Homes, LLC websites. We put lots of Garden articles on this particular website, but this week it is so much fun.  One article is about spit bugs, and the other about deer repellents. Check the articles out here. You will see a list of garden articles, and spit bugs and deer repellents are at the top. The latest articles are always found on top.

Tent Caterpillars

We've got Garden Articles for Western WA on another website for Shelton Land & Homes, LLC. This article caught my attention today, because there was a caterpillar that looked a little bit like this one crawling up my house along side the front door.  Here is the article:

Tent Caterpillars Rarely Kill Trees
Tent caterpillar infestations are being reported throughout our coastal area. They are easy to notice with their unsightly tents and defoliation of deciduous trees. These notorious caterpillars attack a wide variety of plants including alder, apple, ash, birch, cherry, cottonwood, willow, fruit trees, and roses. During heavy infestations the caterpillars will migrate and feed on many other plants.
Early in their development, tent caterpillars tend to eat all of the leaves on one branch before moving on to the next. Later, they split into smaller groups and attack several branches. A single tent may result in 20% defoliation of a small tree.(read more here.)

Face-Lift

The office building for Shelton Land and Homes is getting a face lift. The decks needed some work, and after the repairs they got a coat of this stuff that's used on docks and around pools to prevent slipping. I like the color that was used.  However, there is a problem. The rain came before the stuff was perfectly dry, and so if you come to the office today you'll see warnings to stay off the "wet paint."  They didn't know the stuff was still wet this morning until I walked through it and lest footprints!  Why did it have to be me that did this? Before the rain, others had walked in with no problem, but it rained enough before I arrived to make a difference, and I left tracks.

The exterior of the building is getting cleaned up, too. We have hopes for a new fence in our future. That's the thing about being one of the oldest Independent Real Estate offices in Shelton. Our poor old building reflects our age!  We are still working on the inside, helping people buy and sell their homes and land.

Shelton Land & Homes, LLC

Yard Sale in Fawn Lake

Every year the community of Fawn Lake in Shelton Washington holds a huge community yard sale. This is the weekend!  Fawn Lake is a gated community that surrounds a 70 acre lake. They will open the gate for the weekend so all the shoppers can come and browse. People wait all year for this sale, and there are always good bargains. Of course, what happens is that people who live in the community go around the neighborhood buying from each other, too. It is a lot of fun. 

The only problem this year is that it looks like there is going to be some sprinkles and showers, so it could be harder to display some items. If you want the best items be sure to come on Saturday, but there will still be enough things left on Sunday to make it worth your while to show up. 

The yard sale is June 2 and 3, this weekend.

Falling Prices on Vacant Lots

Wow!  The prices on vacant lots keeps falling. I have 5 lots that I am listing, and the sellers are willing to lower their asking prices to try to entice buyers. I noticed that other agents are having the same experience, and just today saw a waterfront listing in Fawn Lake come up at only $50,000.  It already has a septic, too. I have another lot in Fawn Lake, not on the waterfront, that has power, water and septic, and the sellers have brought the price down to $39,950, and I was surprised when they said to list it at that price. And a lot in the Lake Limerick community that started at $65,000 is now down to $35,000.

So, if anyone is in the market for a vacant lot, now is the time to buy one. You can match up with a home builder like HiLine or Adair and they will help you do a building contract loan, and you can end up with a new home.  As I said, it's a good time to do something like this. 

The Scotch Broom is Blooming

Scotch Broom! This time of year this invasive shrub is in full bloom. It is really pretty, but also very annoying. It was originally brought to Western WA as an ornamental shrub. I can see why, because it is so pretty. BUT, it is also so happy with our climate, soil and other qualities that it has spread everywhere. It doesn't spread all that fast, but it is very, very persistent. Birds and ants spread it by the seeds. It crowds out other plants, and can become a serious fire hazard.

Some people hire a herd of goats to go to work on it, and clean it out. Goats would rather eat blackberry plants, but they will eat Scotch Broom if they don't have much other brush to eat. It is better to tackle it by being just as persistent in cutting it down over and over again, until it finally gives up. Of course, you can also use certain herbicides against it.

It's too bad that Scotch Broom has become the enemy, because I still think it is really pretty this time of year. If you are in the market for vacant land, it is good to look at it this time of year, because you will spot the Scotch Broom easily.

Weather???

So, yesterday we had early morning showers, then sunshine, then later that evening thunder storms with lightening, and a downpour of rain. Today it is one of those perfect Western WA days -- sunshine, blue skies and not too hot!  This is why we live here in "God's country."  :)