Tuesday, May 08, 2007

The Resuming of the Outside Work Has Begun!

Well I am quite proud of having started where I left off last fall! I am working my way around the house because truthfully speaking that is the best way to do this. It's a slow way but the best way. As I work myself around the house I can see what has to be done. For instance there are a number of smaller trees but with very thick trunks that I just can not cut down my self. It's better to know all of the ones that have to be cut down as opposed to just getting them cut down one tree at a time.

Just in case you're wondering what it is I have to do on the outside of the house let me tell you. This should kind of be a lesson to those that don't know but when you let the outside go without maintaining it what you will get is a lot of overgrowth and a lot of weeds - and I mean a LOT of weeds! If you let those weeds continue to grow then they start to turn into trees and then you have a bigger problem - which is what I'm learning. So around the house I go digging up and clearing away the weeds. There is a rosebush that is at least 20 years old on one side of the house and if that isn't properly pruned then the branches grow out and then the heavy weight of them bends the branches while they continue to grow and before you know it the branches start working their way next door! So at the side of the house I'm digging up and clearing the overgrowth. I'm thinking of putting some mulch or some brick walk plates to stop the growth. Once I work my way around the sides that brings me to the back of the house where I have my garden and the hedges. I haven't had a garden for 2 years so you can imagine that there is a lot of overgrowth, debri and weeds to be cleared up! But as I work my way slowly around I managed to clear enough ground to start planting - yipeeee! Now I can think about that as I'm clearing away the rest of the ground!

Since we're not at the end of our frost free date I started planting some cold weather vegetables.

So now I'm onto the other side of the house where there is more clearing to do. Once I finish that side then there's the driveway/garage area that has a lot of tree branches from previous storms that have to be broken up. Whew! Sounds like a lot doesn't it? I'm still not finished though because next will be the front of the house! That involves cutting the grass (after I clear the branches away) and cutting the hedges!

I know it sounds like a lot but hey I have a house! I should be very grateful for that because not everyone can say that. Plus I know from neighbors about the terrible experience of losing their home - something that I vow not to go through.

But back to more pleasant talk..............It is a lot of work but I do want to do it. It also gives me the pleasure of deciding what kind of "do-dads" I want to add like windchimes and a birdhouse and what kind of flowers I want to plant.

So I have a lot of work to do and I plan on having a lot of fun while I do it (-:

3 comments:

Sharon said...

That does sound like a lot of work but well worth your while! Acutally I think there's nothing more satisfying then working out in my yard. It sounds like I don't have as much as you to do but I'm always finding something to work on. Working your way around the house seems like a good way to approach the situation. I should try that sometimes. Weeds... I haven't found a way to control them but they always give me something to do.

Sharon said...

I thought I commented on this post already... who knows maybe it didn't take.

It sounds like you have a lot of work to do luckily you enjoy yard work... I think that makes it easier to accomplish.

Working your way around the house sounds like a sure fire way not to miss anything.

Good luck!

MartinM377 said...

That "working my way around the house" came as a result of just having so much to do (and everybody giving me opinions on what to do) that I decided that I was just going to do it right. So I started at the side of the house and I work my way around.

You know I don't think I enjoy yard work but I do know that it has to be done. I also know that having a garden doesn't mean just planting and picking vegetables - I learned that the hard way. But I love my little house and all the work that has to go with it.