My work covers me

Finally got the corner done!



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Late in the Season

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Fall

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Autumn

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Corner

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Return of the Aliens

I managed to spend a couple of hours on the most beautiful day ever weeding in front. The good new is the tiny oak trees I removed are still gone, and everything else is better for it. But if I did nothing in front, it would be periwinkle, chasmathium, and oak trees. Nothing else.

With the extreme dry weather we are having, the Senecio aureus has mostly died back, hopefully just gone underground. But that allowed me to see all of the periwinkle that has moved in. I got stuff from around the bird feeder and back to the edge of the drop off. I also tried to remove all the chasmathium, by the roots, up to the crest. Below that, I trimmed it cutting off the seed stalks.

Liriope has also made inroads, and there were occasional spots of English ivy. And some poison ivy.

I filled a bag, and the difference is quite visible. It would be great if I can do a bag a weekend from here on out.


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Best time of year

Not living up to all of my responsibilities, but the low maintenance plants keep going.






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Deforestation

I made a pass along the front street and pulled and cut oak trees and chasmathium. Found poison ivy on Paul's side of stone steps. Can't spray right now because it starting raining.













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Exhausted

I did some stuff this weekend, stuff that really needed doing, but I feel I'm farther than ever from having the place fixed up.

Basically, I cleaned up the front yard, and FINALLY mowed it. I'm not sure if I ever mowed it last year even once. I raked, and I pulled myrtle out, and I cut off the tops of an entire oak forest.

The reason I feel like I'm farther than ever is the ivy and myrtle have run rampant and so have my aggressive natives. I feel the front is looking worse than ever. There is so much still to do.

I also hand-pulled weeds in the back lawn, and Clara helped me mow it.

The only thing I planted was ginger by the dutchman's pipe-vine. I bought some stuff at farmers market, but it's not planted yet. Neither is most of the stuff from Behnkes last week (or was it two weeks ago?).

Further behind and sinking fast.

It stays cool out.

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Commitment

I spent quite a bit of time this weekend, and hopefully it will make a difference. Most of what I've done is maintenance but there is at least one capital improvement.

Between yesterday and today, I weeded and cleaned up the corner, up and down. I cut the jasmine back a lot, and I'm considering going for even more. I'm much more aggressive at pulling out or cutting back some of the more aggressive volunteers, like strawberry. Down on my hands and knees, I painstakingly untangle and pull the runners out from around more fragile young plants. Trace those runners back, get a grip on the node and pull! It can be satisfying when a whole colony comes with it.

In the dog's yard, I rooted out a bunch of the gray dogwood along the fence. There, one time when I was pulling on the long running root, I actually pulled a whole whip plant through the ground and up into my hand! Again, very satisfying.

I planted a peony, my first ever. I am so afraid of commitment, and it might last for fifty years. I stuck it in between an azalea and the serviceberry. It's a red single one, the previous post has the tag with the variety name. I flanked it with a tiarella and a heucera. Hopefully the combination will work out. I'm a little uncertain of the degree of sun it gets.

The yellow creeping jenny has become a problem on the corner. I've also got spots where desirable plants have died off and need new fillers. Yay for plant shopping! But the thrifty person in me wants to be sure I've got the maintenance under control.

Speaking of maintenance, I mowed the grass! I never got the final fall mowing in, so it was really long. It definitely looks better now.


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Progress

A lot of work so far, more to come.

Apple Tree

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Apple Blossoms

Poppy

What I planted today

After Planting

More planting soon

My fence bed to be filled in

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Lawn?

I spent some hours in the dog's yard yesterday. I raked, trying to scuff the top layer of the soil. I dug out some of the gray dogwood suckers. I planted a Nelly Moser clematis in the front corner, by the butterfly bushes. I spread grass seed where I had raked, after pulling lots of strawberries out of the area. I watered.



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Myrtle

Spent just half an hour, rooting it out of the natives slope, around the ash tree. I'm letting it grow around the blueberries, but on the slope I want to have space for other things.

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Fall chores

Yes, April starts in two days. But I finally got the butterfly bushes cut back!




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Crops in

I planted lettuce today. Put protector over the bed. Did not water. It's supposed to rain tomorrow night.


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Spring thaw

After the snow storm that wasn't, a weekend with sun and relatively mild temperatures. Ignoring other responsibilities I ventured into the yard.



I cut back the ivy and Japanese honeysuckle along the dough slope. Quite thorough on my trees. Yay.

More work:
I turned over the raised beds. I pruned the redbud and oak and other tree by the raised beds. I cleaned and weeded the yellow bed along the corner.


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Too Many Deer

I just shooed FOUR big deer out of the front yard. Literally, I shooed them - they were in the yard as I parked in front. I yelled at them, and they stood there and looked at me. I went up the steps into the front yard, and they sidled towards the neighbor's yard, but stopped and looked at me. I waved my arms, shouting "shoo" and walked towards them. They finally flicked their tails and bounded off down the hill and in back towards the park.

Season-appropriate

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Fire notes

Cold out tonight, and snowing. Started fire with newspaper curls and a piece of fat wood and kindling. Put in three logs in the first 15 minutes. Cracked to door a couple of times to encourage it. Nicely built up now.


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More fire notes

Easy start with newspaper, kindling, and a piece of fat wood. Two logs on top, and now just one more every half hour or longer. It took about 45 minutes for the fan to come on, but its hot the ceiling fan turning slowly.

It's 25 degrees outside. I turned the thermostat to 64, and its thermoset reads 68. My room was down to 58 so I turned its heater on. Thermometer in the kitchen reads 68. Of course the house was 70 when we started.


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