Bit more History – Part 2 – 1991

This is the rather bleak view from the back of the subject house to the alley, the week we moved in. The the only record I have of that moment is a photocopy of the landlord’s snapshot. Suppose he wanted evidence of how things looked before we moved in, in case we wreaked the place. At least there were no appliances in the yard, or cars that needed towing. The one and only plant back there, other than some weeds, was the dying Avocado tree seen in the upper left.

Within our first week, I realized a collection of sewage was bubbling up from the ground near the tree. What a big, soggy mess. Landlord arrives the next day and suggests we do some digging of our own to find the source of the problem. In lieu of calling a professional, I agreed and we excavated a 30 foot trench about two feet deep. We determined the contractor building a house next door allowed his backhoe into this yard, and in the process crushed the old ceramic sewer line. Weeks later with a new line in, I begin to notice the Avocado tree starting to leaf out. I later learned that the contractor took the liberty to severely prune the tree so as not to encroach on his client’s property. This poor tree had it’s roots mangled, and it’s canopy cut and chopped, but was now showing new signs of life.

In retrospect, I credit that sewage spill and all the water I provided later, for reviving this once majestic 60 year old fruit tree. Back in 1991 I was not concerned with saving water but with using water to conserve what little life there was on this property.