So today we decided to trim back the rest of the yards surrounding the house itself. When the new privacy fence went up, Tim and Massey trimmed everything back and out of the way for the fence guys.
This is the old fence they hauled away.
We had Sunflowers that were about twenty feet, they trimmed them down to about a foot high the week before Christmas. They are already flourishing again and came back thicker, healthier looking and are already six feet high.
Our Key Lime tree already has half a dozen limes on it and the peach tree is beginning to blossom. We have five banana trees and after removing all the dead leaves, they are growing like crazy. I have about four or five different types of palms, aloe plants and about four different types of cacti. We googled one today and found out it was a pencil cactus. When we trimmed it back, a white foam oozed out of the fresh cut branches. Same with the giant elephant ears, when you cut back ones that have fallen over, the stalks are loaded with (what I am assuming is) water. I can identify the azaleas because we had those back home in Georgia. They pretty much bloom year round here. I have a hibiscus tree outside my bedroom window, it is fairly young so is still staked up but always has one exquisite and perfect flower on it. I've started dumping a bucket of water with Miracle Gro in it on each and every plant and tree in the yard , twice a month. The results have been amazing. My jasmine and wisteria are thick as a green wall on the fences and lattice work. The pergola is covered with Bleeding Heart, some red and some white. I have three trees in my front yard which I discovered were Trumpets and have the most delicate light pink flowers on them. Wild ferns are everywhere and so are Crotons and mother in law tongues...they call them snake plants here. Philodendron and huge vines travel up the live oaks in the back yard and make it look like a Tarzan movie was shot there.
With a yard like ours, we have (finally) learned it is all about pruning back to encourage healthy regrowth. I have so many plants I don't even know the name of, but am slowly learning. One of Massey's best friends told me about the Google app where you take a picture of something and it tells you what it is.
The lady who lived here before us had a gardener. Now we're the gardeners. Keeping the grass cut is easy peasy, I go down the street to my brother's house and ride his Johnny Dear back to my house and have it all cut in under an hour.
Let me show you the pergola now. Tim and Massey were like Mad Hackers!
It is so light and sunny. The plants can breathe again!
They used the loppers, the electric hedger and clippers. They amassed quite the pile, in under thirty minutes.
I went down to my brothers house and borrowed six of his huge cans used for yard debris. We only have three. *note to self, buy lots more*
Cutting and hacking simply isn't my forte anymore. It used to be, about ten years ago, but once I hit sixty, it's like my body said...
"Hey, I'm old now. Don't push me anymore. You wore me out slinging dishes and toting buckets of ice for forty years."
I will have to add I am an excellent sidekick and go-fer. I'm handy with a rake and broom and can clean up behind any kind of mess they have to make. It's just the upper body strength I lack these days, which makes me feel like an old lady.
Guess it a good thing I am an old lady.
Birthdays don't lie.
I'm not middle aged anymore; meaning I don't know a lot of (any) people who are a hundred twenty. Kinda depressing, but I'm still a glass half full person.
I've gotten so spoiled since my forced early retirement. I get up every day and put on shorts, a tank top or sports bra with flip flops. I've worn flip flops so much, my feet hurt after wearing actual shoes. Even tennis shoes. If I wear tennis shoes that means I have to wear socks or footies and I don't need any added clothing with my hot flashes. A hook on bra is simply out of the question. So are long pants. Today Massey went and got me some gardening gloves out of the garage to wear. Even my hands got hot so I took them off. Getting fingernails dirty never killed anybody. Hot flashes feel like they could.
We filled up nine huge cans, and they bundled up the tree limbs with twine. The good thing is that every Wednesday here is yard debris and big item day. They will take as much as you leave by the curb, as long as it is in cans, leaf bags or tied into bundles. You can put furniture or appliances out curbside too if you want. It's like free delivery for the dump and you don't even have to make the trip.
So I'm the new designated Cleaner Upper. I got up all the bleeding heart vines they cut out, three cans full, and snapped some of the smaller twigs. I raked up all the clippings, bagged them and swept the porches.
Massey and I were talking yesterday out in the yard. I was in the hammock and she was reading in one of the Adirondack chairs. We started talking about our big plans for today, purging the yards of all the overgrowth.
The entire time we lived in Jonesboro after Tim and I first met, through twenty more years of living in Newnan, he never worked in the yards, or even cut them. I came in like a bull and took over all the yard work. Not surprisingly, he let me. I even rolled the trash out every week and rolled the cans back. He worked long hours at a job he hated and when he would finally get home, he was definitely off the clock.
Since we've bought this small but lush piece of paradise, he has worked in the yards or helped out every single week. I keep the yards mowed, he (and Massey) keep it under control, from getting out of control. When you live somewhere and things grow and bloom year round, it's a year round job to keep it from getting out of hand or taking over.
Tim was a hard sell on this house to begin with, but Massey and I wore him down like the naggers we are. He has mentioned time and time again how grateful he is that we kept on him to buy this place.
It's not the grandest house, but is the perfect house for us.
Here's the thing I love about yard work. Yes it's hard work, but the results are instantly rewarding, and bonus points, even neighbors notice, whether they say anything or not. I've never had a neighbor stop me at the mailbox and say "You really know how to keep a toilet clean."
So I'm not going to worry about growing old and my body slowing down just a bit. I'm actually surprised its lasted this long.
I'm simply going to enjoy and appreciate every single day and strive to live life to the best of my recently discovered "ability."
Everything else is gravy.
So true.
Till next time...COTTON
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