Well, I didn't get the flower bed weeded or my zinnia seeds in on Saturday but I did pull out a mountain of cleaver aka sticky weed from underneath the crepe myrtles that line the side of the barn that faces west. No before picture of course because...well, we all know the reason.
But here's a picture of cleaver and the mountain.
Believe me when I tell you the cleaver under the crepe myrtles was knee high. I had on gloves but not long sleeves and by the time I finished my arms from wrist to elbow was covered in a skin irritation that resembled a rash.
And the 'after'.
I did get the rest of the morning glory and moonflower seeds planted against the fence that surrounds the shop yard.
Once again Sunday I was going to weed the flower bed but decided to work on the west side of the barn again instead since it was in the shade, an area I have mostly ignored for years. I got the long handled nippers and started cutting down and poisoning the little stumps of all the trees that had sprouted back in there and then I started pruning all the little scraggly low branches and the sprouts coming up from the roots of the crepe myrtles up to about the size of a broom handle. Some of those fuckers were 15' - 20' tall. The others I'll have to cut off with the chainsaw. Then I had to cut it all down to manageable sizes and throw them in the truck. Which is now full. Again. And once again the burn pile needs to be torched before I add this truckload of branches.
And that was it for me. I got a little overheated even in the shade and had to stop and rest some in the barn where there was a nice cool breeze blowing through. The area still needs work, cutting off the rest of the sprouts from the roots, trimming down the large clumps of weedy grass and raking some of the piled up debris out but this is what it looks like now.
I've been sitting out on the deck in the evenings after walking the dog and before dinner trying to finish the book I've been reading which I finally did last night. It's been very pleasant and the birds are starting to get used to me out there as they utilize the birdbath or the suet feeder.
It's overcast today and we may get some rain so maybe I'll do some of that less strenuous weeding I've been trying to get to.
The bluebonnets out front and in the back are at peak so I'll leave you with these.
You get an A+, and your house looks so charming in that speckled blue and green.
ReplyDeleteThose bluebonnets are wonderful! I envy Texas for them.
ReplyDeleteWe have the cleaver too and although it is not a huge threat yet, I have a feeling that it may be next up on the Devil's list of things to torment me with. I'm right now taking a break from pulling/cutting flame vine sprouts in the garden, weeding other things as I go.
ReplyDeleteYour blue bonnets are a glory.
You are an excellent keeper of your plot of land, Ellen.
You are such a hard-working gardener there. I love your flowers and the lushness of all that green.
ReplyDeleteYour little house is so lovely and attractive. And you are working mighty hard!
ReplyDeleteYour bluebonnets are wonderful! Your deck is the perfect spot to read and relax after all of your hard work. Well done!
ReplyDeletePretty pretty! I'd like to come sit on the deck with you - maybe in November? It might be the right temp then.
ReplyDeleteYes, come sit with me!
DeleteYou work All The Time woman! What an excellent treat that deck is then. Lovely lovely bluebonnets, I think we call them lupins and find them in the forest mostly. But not yet.
ReplyDeleteI did a bit of weeding this morning with the new girl from next door. By the end of one hour, the fog was rolling in and both of our trash cans were full of weeds. We came in and I paid her and arranged for her to come again on Saturday. Looking good (your place and my railroad!)
ReplyDeleteHa! You're right. As soon as I saw that photo, I recognized the cleaver/sticky weed. I've never known a name for it, but I ran across some out at Brazos Bend on Sunday, and wondered if it was the same. The USDA map shows it as native in Brazoria and Ft. Bend counties, but it clearly has crossed the county lines. The genus name is Galium, and we have a half dozen species around -- but they're all similar.
ReplyDeleteYour bluebonnets are glorious!