There isn't a tendon or joint that is not barking at me tonight. I've just finished a ten day courtship with my front and back yards.....and I 'm going to declare us both winners.I like to garden....and I enjoy tinkering in my yards.
My back yard is mostly forest with numerous azalea bushes, Hostas and a few other ornamental snuggled down in the tamed landscape. I have a small pond....where a colony of frogs live....plus a rain-stream...a stream that comes to life when it rains.
Since my house is on a hill....I look down into my backyard and I love that it is mostly wild and attracts wild things. Songbirds, rabbits, owls, hawks, woodpeckers, raccoons, squirrels, turtles...you name it and it probably lives or passes through my property.
As the West Side of my city adds more parking lots and buildings....my little yard is a wildflower and wild thing oasis. Every other year though--- I have to go down there and tame it .....pull out poison ivy, cut down branches to increase sunlight and air, clip numerous tree sprouts, and cart out dead branches and moldy whatever to keep things in a pleasant balance.
When my parents died, of course, I was up in Chicago....and settling their estate ....so it's been about 3 years since I had a chance to tidy up.It wasn't horrible....nature does keep some things in check all by herself....but there was a tremendous amount of overgrown vines and a tremendous need for some pruning.
So armed with ax, shovel, pruning saw, clippers and a triangular metal stake ...which I call the jabber....I tackled my lot. Some days I only put an hour of work in.....other days 6 hours.....my son Tom helped me after school....he morphed into a human tractor...hauling all the debris up and out to the front of the house. His hefty size was a helpful too.
When I couldn't find an ax....I looked at him.... at 6'3" and said, "Remember when you played football? Think of that rotten dogwood tree as your opponent." He put his shoulder down....and gave a good hard thump....and the darn thing fell right over. Yes yes...we had to get an axe to chop the roots free...but it was still sort of cool.
The front yard is manicured and has traditional garden plants with just a few wild things stuck in...some native buckeyes....a few wildflowers. It's sort of the yang to the yin of the back yard.
I congratulated myself on moving from back to front ...cause by the time I did hit the front yard....my muscles were having serious conversations with me...and my hands sported callouses. When I finally yelled over to my son, "We are done done done!" I did a little celebratory gig....and walked back and forth....eying my achievements....making sure nothing needed just a little more clipping.
Tomorrow....the landscape guy comes over. There's a huge unruly thick holly that needs some expert trimming and at least of truck load of mulch to spread....which I will gladly pay for someone else to move. I know my limits....10 days of hard work is perfect and I am happy to baby and pay the type of attention to my plants that only an individual can do....but bulk mulching is not romantic and requires more muscles than I have left right now....so I'll help the economy and pay people to do that.
Finished and ready for fall....the leaves are turning...the garden is ready....and now it's time for both the land and I to rest.
