Thursday, March 31, 2011

Cleveland Park Airway Heights Washington



Last year The City of Aiway Heights commisioned us to engrave park markers for their new park.

You can see our work all over the Northwest.

This is just an example of what Innovative Ideas we can bring to the table.

And hey.....

If the City of Airay Heights likes our work....

I think you will too......




Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Greenwood Memorial Gardens



As You all know by now. 

I love doing Water Features.

Here is one we did for Greenwood Memorial off Government Way.

It was a dedication for their Japanese Garden area on the upper terrace.

Drive by and take a look if you get a chance. 

It one of the funnest ones I have done yet.


 


Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Spokane County Road Restrictions



Have you ever wondered what it means if your road is restricted?

Well here is the official sign you see posted.

What it means to us who make a living by moving large quantities of material by dump truck is.....

We need to wait till they decide to remove the signs before we can begin our season.

Moral of the story.

Patients is a virtue.

Tap....Tap....Tap......

We wouldn't want this to happen now would we.

 
 


Monday, March 28, 2011

What do you do when you are waiting for road restrictions to be lifted?



You build a Donkey coop of course......

This is what we do with our weekends.

How do you spend your free time?

We love our animals.

From the chickens to the goats....









And now the Mini Donkeys!




 
 


Saturday, March 26, 2011

Feeding the Critters....



Did I ever think that when I bought my John Deere 322 Skid Loader that I would be using it to haul hay to feed the critters?

In a word...

No.


Just a fun picture for the day......









Friday, March 25, 2011

Spring Clean up dosen't need to be a hastle.....



Did you know we did equipment based Spring Clean ups?

We can get rid of all kinds of junk for you and save you all kinds of time...

Most of the time we can be in and out in less than a day and be under a grand including disposal.

Food for thought as you are muddling through all of that junk that seems to accumulate over the winter.

Big or Small....Well trash it all!








Thursday, March 24, 2011

Can you say Jackass?



If you thought building a chicken coop was interesting....Just wait till we start on the Donkey Coop.....More to come soon.....

Yep...We got a Jackass.....






Tuesday, March 22, 2011

I picked up a new field guide today




Soooo....I picked up our new field guide for the season.....

Whadda ya think?

Do you think it might come in useful?

I hope this made you smile like it did for me.


(no I didn't really buy it, but it did make me smile)





Monday, March 21, 2011

Geting a testimonial is our goal on every job.....




Monte,

I met you thru a family connection week 1. Week 2 we had the whole idea dialed in. And week 3, we were breaking ground. How punctual is that???? I can't thank you enough for the ideas, and the thorough work you did on my blank canvas of a back yard. You and your crew did a great job on our new home!!! The materials you provided were top notch, and the work you did could not have turned out better. And I really appreciate you going the extra mile to do all the "small things" that needed to get done in the process to make the job COMPLETE!!!!! I have had countless neighbors pull up while I'm working in the yard asking "who did that for you??" "WOW, that looks great," "where did you get that stuff??" I would strongly recommend Monte, Cascading Creations, and the materials they use to anyone in the market for a landscaping creation, makeover, or addition without a doubt! Thanks Monte, for giving me, my family, and my home something to enjoy for many years to come.



Samuel R. Hess
SRH Appraisals
1009 W. Highpeak Dr.
Spokane, WA 99224




Sunday, March 20, 2011

The Chicken Coop final chapter











We had a ball putting the Chicken Coop together as a family.

I had my son Tony wander around towards the end of the day and shoot some pictures of the finish work we were doing.

He did a wonderful job capturing the day and the weekend. 

Don't ya think?













This last one is my favorite I think.....

Happy Wife.....Happy Life....






Saturday, March 19, 2011

Chickens....and.....Kids. In no particular order.




I know you may be tired of hearing about the chicken coop saga but....

Let me tell you.

It has been a wonderful experiment in doing a "family" project.




I don't think I have ever seen my kids work as hard for something so simple. 

It's a chicken coop for Pete's sake.

But think about that from a kids perspective.

Chickens are fun and something they can wrap their heads around for a long time to come

Now they all have a stake in the continued success of these small but rather interesting little creatures.

I have to say that I am extremely proud of my kids today. 



They ALL pitched in and worked their butts off.

But it was not without it's own reward!


Thursday, March 17, 2011

For Japan with Love: Blogger’s Day of Silence

 
 
 
The devastation in Japan after the gruesome disaster last week is harrowing. Experts are estimating a death toll of 25,000 or more, it’s something that’s hard to grasp from thousands of miles away. But a reality all the same.Cascading Creations will be joining with bloggers across the world in the For Japan with Love: Bloggers Day of Silence organized by Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours tomorrow to raise awareness and acknowledge the devastation going on in Japan, which means there won’t be a post tomorrow.
For Japan with Love has hand picked Shelter Box to donate to. Shelter Box is a non-profit that provides emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters. Their volunteers are already in Japan working in the relief efforts, so you can be sure your money is going to a good cause.
Be a part of the relief, donate here. The campaign has already raised over $15,000 and counting!




For Japan with Love



Wednesday, March 16, 2011

My daughter Madison.



This is my daughter Madison.

She is always ready to help.

She never complains.

She almost whistles while she works.

She is my little Punkin' Butt....

I love her dearly.

The picture below is the fruits of this afternoon's labor.

Everyone pitched in to help finish the fire pit. 

It turned out pritty cool.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Chicken Coop gets a fire pit......Yeah.....Really.



As you can see our foreman was on task this afternoon. 

She was monitoring the progress of the fire pit.

Yeah....I said it.

Fire Pit....



What self respecting coop doesn't have a fire pit?....

Well I can think of a few.

My thought is that it's just a more convenient way of preparing a meal.

If you catch my drift...


TTT





Monday, March 14, 2011

The Chicken Coop Saga part II



Every Chicken coop needs a set of stairs right?

Well from the top of the deck down to the actual coop was about a 5 foot drop.....

So my Wife needed steps...

I brought home a couple of flat rocks and an hour later....

Boom!

Steps for "The Coop"



TTT










Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Chicken Coop Saga begins.....



I know it's not a major "Landscaping" event to chronicle but hey I am having fun. And in the process I may just learn something that might add value to any landscaping project. 

If a customer ever asks me if I can do a Chicken Coop I will most certainly be able to tell them "yes I can build you a Chicken Coop"....

Plus....There are plenty of things involved in building "The Perfect Chicken Coop" (my wife's term) that can be applied in any excavation project. 

It shows our versatility.....

Yea......I'll keep telling myself that....











Saturday, March 12, 2011

What Chickens have do do with landscaping....



What do chickens have to do with landscaping? 

Absolutely nothing

I just spent the day getting all the things we will need to build a chicken coop to make my wife happy.

Ok I have to admit......

I kinda like the idea too.

But as you all may already know....

Happy Wife.....Happy Life.....

And lets just say....

Life is Happy

Nuf Said.....


TTT





Thursday, March 10, 2011

What to do with that ugly propane tank.....



Many of you that have gas (propane) heat and appliances are strapped with that UGLY Tank to deal with outside your house.

Well.......

We have a solution.

Incorporate it into your landscape plan.

They are easy to hide and decorate around 

(we just have to be really careful)

Even though this is a good picture of the finished job.....




It dosen't do the project any justice.

We built steps from the back of the garage.

Down to the patio in the back yard.

The Customer was very happy with the end result.

Here is what he had to say:











Wednesday, March 9, 2011

My Son Colby...



As I have told you before....

Wednesday is Family day.

I could write a blog just about my kids. 

They make me so proud on a daily basis.

Colby is 8 years old and can drive the equipment with ease.

Don't worry....all saftey precautions were observed.




Have a fantastic day

TTT









Tuesday, March 8, 2011

What is WoodStone?


We suggest WoodStone when we do our hardscaping. 

Why? You may ask....

It is by far the most versatile ground cover product we offer.

The color is amazing and it covers with an average two inches of coverage because it is a flat rock.
The color matches Column rock and as you know (if you have read our previous post)

We love to hardscape with Column rock.

WoodStone comes in 2 inch for great bark replacement.
or 3/4 inch for that pathway thru the ground cover.

An amazing product we get right here in the Northwest

and as you know

We love supporting businesses right here in the Northwest.








Monday, March 7, 2011

One more Testimonial....Just in case you wanna read it.....



Jim Wilson here.


We recently decided to rejuvenate and regravel our lengthy driveway and two other gravel areas on our property where we maintain equipment and a turnaround.

Historically, we have always relied on our builder to contract out such work, but at this point so many years had passed since our initial construction, we felt we should not impose.  I have to admit, I was somewhat hesitant to simply guess on a contractor, as you hear so many horror stories.

I requested bids from several landscape contract firms.  Not only was Cascading Creations the first to respond, they ultimately were the most reasonable in price.

Monte came out to our property within one week of the initial contact and provided me with an estimate a day later.....impressive. 

We made arrangements for the work to be completed, which occurred on time and on budget.  So much for the horror stories.

I think what impressed me the most was a piece of work performed for which we did not contract.  When I walked the property with Monte, I casually mentioned I was going to have find time to get my tractor out to scrape weeds from a rocky portion of sloping hillside (about a half acre).  There was no more discussion about this.

However, the day after the project was completed I was taken aback when I noticed Cascading Creations had completed the weed project for me.  Even more amazing was that the worker on the project was not Monte.  This meant Monte remembered my comment, conveyed it to his employee and the employee completed the work (despite finishing up in the dark-and taking time to come up to the house to let us know the work was done and to contact him if there were any problems).

So in the end, the whole experience was low maintenance for us, on budget with what I would consider superior service.  We intend to reinitiate a significant landscape redesign project at some point (halted by the economic crisis).  When we do, you can be certain our landscape design architect will be in touch with Cascading Creations.

James K. Wilson, CFP
Northern Capital Management, Inc.
2700 S. Southeast Blvd., Suite 205
Spokane, WA 99223

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Old meets new.....



WE DO,


I've told you that before and I stick to that....

Most of the time....

I love to decorate our water features with antiques.

I have a (not so secret) passion for any antique relating to farms.

I was raised on a farm, and we used, on a daily basis, many of the items we now decorate with.

We have a yard full of antique wagons, wheels, farm implements, gears, hand tools and other miscellaneous farm equipment.

And somehow.....Mysteriously.....most of those kind of things find their way into the water features and rock-scapes I build.



Amazing how that happens...

Just thought I would share.....

TTT



 

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Our 50/50 Rule....



We joke every year that we have a 50/50 Rule to doing business....

NO it dosen't mean we do 50% of the work 50% of the time......

Ok.....That kinda made me laugh a little

Nope here is what that means to us.

The phone starts ringing when the temperature hit 50 degrees in the Spring......

AND

It stops ringing when it dips below 50 degrees in the fall.

This fall was no different but 50 degrees came alot earlier and with a little more vengance with record snow fall for Spokane in Novemeber. It seemed like we just skipped fall and moved right into winter.....




The differience this year it would appear....

it has changed into a 50/40 rule....

We are already booked for April and the temperature hasn't been above 50 but save for a handful of times. Even though the plants want it to be so.



I'm not complaining, mind you....

I'm just making an observation.

I'm thinking that people are tired of hearing all the rehtoric about a bad economy and are ready to move on......

We can only hope.......

TTT



 

Thursday, March 3, 2011

I love my job....


In the last couple of days I have criss crossed this whole county at least twice....

And let me tell you.....

It never gets old.

You can go from downtown to something like this in 10 minutes.....

Simply amazing.

Sometimes it's ok to just stop and take a picture.

So far I have looked at 7 of the 19 leads we got at the Spokane Home And Yard Show. This was by far my favorite little jaunt through time.

Just thought I would share how much I love the Northwest....





 

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Sometimes it's just about a cool picture....



I have decided that my blog posts on Wednesdays were going to be short and sweet from now on. I want to introduce you all to my family...

This is Tony

He is my first born....

It is a picture from a few years ago 

But I really Like it

I hope you do too.





 

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A little love......


Sometimes I just want to share with you some of our testimonials...

Heck we earned um...

Our goal for each job is the same.....

To get a testimonial from our customers

You can't do that without surpassing expectations.....

 
"I hired Cascading Creations to transform a botched water feature, add steps in my very large rock garden and a walking path in my yard.  I'm so pleased with the results.  From the moment I met Monte Tareski and crew I was impressed with their creativity, knowledge and professionalism.  The work began and ended as promised.  But beyond that, they went to great efforts to protect my grass from their heavy machinery and accommodate the safety of my dogs in my back yard.  I was very comfortable having Cascading Creations on my property. The results are evident in the photos.  They were professional, respectful and friendly.  I'd certainly hire them again, if needed.  I miss them already!"

Connie Suchomel --Five Mile Heights--