Sometimes I treat my daily to-do list like a sort of menu — given multiple tasks of equal importance, I’ll pick what suits my appetite (capacity, interest, etc.) or even the weather. Sunday, I had four to choose from.
Only one had anything to do with firewood, and I ruled that out in favor of staying with the theme of “spring cleanup” begun on Saturday. I settled on doing a little redneck landscaping.
Wielding weedwhacker, loppers and rake, I waded onto the tangled lower level. Some of the overgrowth was almost waist-high — obviously, the seeding I did two years ago was wildly successful — and the soft shed was all but inaccessible.
I didn’t get any “before” pictures, but the result speaks for itself, I think.
Now, everything I need to get to — burn barrel, soft shed, compost tumbler — has been liberated. I cleared brush and cuttings from the bank, too, for the sake of neatness.
I left the south end of the lower level alone to grow wild, other than preserving walk-in access off that end of the driveway.
Truth is, I expect the whole area will be a jungle again by June unless I keep up with it. That’d mean doing battle with summer’s heat, ticks and chiggers. We’ll see.
I was exhausted after yesterday morning’s burst of exertion — definitely a lot of work. I returned to the cabin and took an early nap.
Mid-day sleep did me a world of good. I awoke refreshed, anxious to get back to my “landscaping.”
Next up for cleanup was what I see every time I walk out the front door — my “volunteer garden” across the driveway. This time I managed to snap a photo before I started.
Putting it right was a simple but tedious matter of pulling up anything too tough for the weedwhacker to take down (which was most of it). After 90 minutes of yanking and raking, then using the leaf blower to scrub the area to a Country standard, it looked like this:
I’d say that’s a big improvement.
Finally, I addressed the area between the north end of the driveway and the well shed. The weedwhacker was the only tool I needed.
It cleaned up nicely, I believe.
I have no particular interest these days in manicuring the grounds. My fastidious years are behind me, and I’ve mowed my last lawn. Still, within my personal definition of “rustic,” I like to keep things relatively tidy.
The first day of meteorological spring seemed like the ideal time to do a little of that. I’m pleased with how it turned out.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable