I know what you mean. We were surprised at how much work our house needed, too. Though built well in just 1993 there were a number of things that had gone without maintenance and it took three years and way too much money to get the flaws knocked out. The second water-proofing project should be just about finished this week, and I think that might be the end of the list until the HVAC compressor dies, probably in the heat of the summer. Still, we got a 2.4 acre lot where we can only just see two neighbors. There's a seasonal creek ... er ... trickle of water across part of the property. And when it snows it feels like you are in a national park. All this with city water, gas, trash service, and sewerage, about a mile of Frys and two miles of the center of town. It was just too good to resist. It's even fun watching all the wildlife, so long as it's not eating the roses.
We have ponderosa pine and alligator juniper growing wild here. I planted two pinyon pine and in two years they have gone from 3" tall to maybe 4" tall. Maybe in three of four years they will reach the growth rate of 6" per year. I planted them in a location where I really don't want them taller than about 6 or 7 feet, anyway. I'll report back on them in fifteen years.
