We have spent the first couple of weekends at the new house trying to clear some of the vegetation from around the house. Not only were the trees and bushes blocking what we hoped would be even better views of the water, but they were also growing into the deck and house footings in places. As a reminder here is the view looking to the northwest when we first took possession.
And here is the same view (more or less) a couple of weeks later.
After a lot of chopping and hauling of branches we are really starting to notice a difference in how spacious the deck feels as well as how light the house is. The results look pretty good in the other direction too; here is the view to the east when we purchased the house.
And here is the same view this weekend after several days of work.
Clearing back so much of the vegetation has really helped open up the entire view. Instead of your eye being drawn to the small section of water, we find ourselves looking all around at the entire bay and volcanic caldera behind.
Finally, a quick picture of the view from the deck, looking down towards the area we have been clearing. This afternoon as we moved the last of the brush away from the house we were pleasantly surprised to start finding the bones of the old garden that someone must have spent a lot of time putting in. As we cut back the shrubs and weeds we found retaining walls, steps and planters that we will hopefully be able to replant soon.