Today, the damage, the change

That may not look like much, but, I am SO freekin' happy with it. I finally, FINALLY talked the old lady into getting rid of that damn swing set. Lissa had outgrown it and it was an eyesore. This spot is right in front of my house. But, technically, that's her yard. She never uses it and I needed a place to sit where the neighbors stupid dogs won't yap at me. It's right in front of my front flower bed, and I can made some more now! Some little shade gardens by the fence. Yeah! That fence line will all fill in soon and it will be more private. I have silver Clematis there with a stem as big as a small tree now. I trimmed it back to help it grow better. And that dead lookin' bush is not dead. It's Forsythia and the neighbor stepped over the line and cut the hell out of it. He wasn't being mean, he just didn't know it blooms on old wood, not new. That's okay, I have a ton of that stuff. Anyway, in a few weeks, this will look a lot different. Goodbye, you piece of shit giant swing set. I might get Gabe a little sand box though. I need some better lawn furniture, ha, that stuff is pathetic. Yard Sales! Oh, and Mike, the yard man, got his huge truck in here yesterday and cut down some big old Walnut limbs, to open it up, while I directed from the ground. That was nerve wracking, but, worth it. Timber! Now my flower garden will get front sun again. That's exciting.

I lost several plants and trees to the unusually harsh Winter. Things just can't survive 40 degree below zero weather, so, that's sad. I lost my beautiful Ivy, which was starting to cover the side of the house. The Honeysuckles are gone. Asparagus bit the dust. I lost my River Birch tree, and sadly, I lost one Red Bud tree. I have to cut it down and remove it. It has a sister tree here too though, that made it. My Black Apple and all the other young trees made it too. And almost all the shrubs. We haven't had a Winter like that since I was a kid. Hopefully, we won't get one like that again for a long time.

Woo hoo! The veg garden is done and planted! So exciting (to me). I know, it's small and looks like shit. But, this WILL produce. A lot more than we need. Lissa likes planting, but, not the real work. I dug it all with my shovel. Yeah, I hurt myself. But, I just had to do it. Everything I think I need is in there. I concentrated a lot on fall decorating items. Gourds, various Punkin's and red Indian Corn. I grew most of it from seed. We also put in two rows of green beans because those are delicious and I can freeze them. Some various greens, not too many. We're not really into them. Some Herbs. We like those. And a few other this and thats. Oh, Zucchini, OMG, that's my favorite. I can't wait for that.

There are some Tomatoes in there, seedlings and seeds. But, my real Tomato bed is separate from this. Tomato's like another spot. I also have a tiny bed of sweet Corn for my Raccoon buddies. I planted it closer to their dens this year. That will keep the rascally baby coons out of my garden, since all they want is corn. The big Raccoons have good manners. The babies are ridiculous. I also have a seperate Strawberry bed and they all made it and are producing a little already! I have a small flower bed I turned into a Pepper and Eggplant bed. It actually looks pretty with a plastic bird bath in the center.

I got this done yesterday, it's part of the path that goes from the front to the back winding path. I was working on it all day and into the night. I finally finished in total darkness, and yes, I did accidentally pick up a snake. That's when I decided to stop. It looks like a tiny area, and it is, but, I had to remove two wheelbarrows of giant flowers and relocate them. Then I transplanted roses in between the Arborvitae and added Bleeding Hearts, Night Flowering Jasmine, Hibiscus, Moonflowers and Dahlias. Finally, I edged it and planted small Lemon Marigolds there. Something is bound to grow and like it there...(laughing at myself and my obsessive over planting.) But, hey, I covered my bases. It should look much more civilized near the front door this year. I needed a machete to leave the house by August last year. It was creepy and claustrophobic.

I love and adore Bleeding Hearts. I know this is too close to that Rose bush. I know. But, I was trying to think like a plant. The Bleeding Heart gets medium big, but, it's an early bloomer. That old fashioned yellow bush Rose (my favorite Rose) will get large, but, it's a late bloomer. The timing of their bloom sounds perfect to me. I think they'll get along. If not..I have a shovel.

 The delicate, baby Japanese Maple, exposed to the North wind, made it. In fact, it got bigger. Go figure, huu?


PS, I have to say, I am sort of liking this moderated comments thing. I get to answer you all and no one gets lost in the shuffle when I'm busy. Plus, I haven't seen any troll comments. I think blogger recognizes their IP's and they're are all being deleted automatically now. It's pretty cool and not as much of a pain in the ass as I thought. Oh, and I finally realized I can just put a comment control icon right on my tool bar, so, boom, it's right handy. No more clickity click click click to find them. You guys are awesome and I love your comments!