Start this whole process by contacting your local office of the Michigan State University USDA Cooperative Extension Service. They can help quite a bit. That "weeds" and grass are growing among those rocks indicates you have a fairly decent soil there, just that the rocks may need to be removed to get to it, but those landcsape rocks will need to be removed any way. Once the rocks are out of the way the easiest, cheapest method of controlling those "weeds" is to cover them with newspaper, or cardboard, and cover that with a good mulch and in several weeks you will have the start of a better soil with some organic matter in it, depending on how active a Soil food Web you do have. Here is a link that might be useful: MSU CES

Purchased a new home in August moved in in December home was built in 1960 going crazy trying to figure out what the odor is that is permeating through out house. Have checked for water leaks, have had industrial hygienist out, had a basement specialist here to look at crawl space no one can figure out what the problem is. Even my new refrigerator is now picking up the unpleasant odor. Next I will be checking with a chimney specialist?? There is a fully vented chimney gas wood burning stove (wood burning stove that was made for gas or wood) in the firebox. The home is a split level, family room, bath and additional bedroom is built on a slab remainder of home is crawl space. In the family room there is a red brick interior wall next to the fireplace it appears to show signs of moisture (different colors in grout at times) particularly after heavy rain. I am having a contractor out in the next 4 weeks to make repairs to rotted wood on fascia board and capping fascia, adding new gutter soffits. The home has a new roof (2015) had two roofers out to make sure no leaks in roof....all looked good. They also verified no water was entering the home due to rotten wood on fascia. I know there is a high water table here and I have had underground drainage installed in the front of the home discharging to the street. Can't really explain the odor...in trying to research this everything points to sewer line but sewer line has been replaced a few years ago. The industrial hygienist did note the crawlspace only had R 10 insulation in the joists I will be increasing that to R 30 as well as cleaning out all the old rock wool insulation in the attics and replacing it with R 38. My most recent thoughts are 1. maybe the underground drainage system the prior owners installed in the back yard are not properly pitch. 2. maybe a pin hole leak in copper water pipe that runs through house (I did do a water test this morning-turned off all running water noted meter reading wrote down time, waited two house to see if meter moved, which it did not). Tonight I will leave one of the facets drip and see if that moves the meter reading. 3. The chimney liner is bad and allowing condensation to build???? Do you have any thoughts???

You're a zone colder than it's range, so it's probably compost now. You can dig it up and check the roots, but I doubt if there's much hope that it's dormant.

I think I already have 4 of them. I can't imagine what's not to like about the branching habit. I love their up-right-ed-ness. And color!? Oh, my. I'm not fond of October Glory. My Pacific Sunset has always been somewhat of a disappointment, and my poor Red Sunset has never had a good start. (Hopefully after discovering this year that it's had almost a decade of borers, it'll begin recovery.) There are other red maples I'd like to get for future shade. Haven't gone far enough to look, although this is the time of year!