# Cleaning the yard



## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

This is not my favorite job this week. Ordinarily, I love yard work. This week, I am still cleaning up all the stuff I cut down last month before it started raining as if Noah was moving in up the block. Now, I've got grass that is easily a foot tall. I've got grapevines and rosebush canes and tree limbs all over the place. Many of them under that tall grass! I have no working lawnmower and my weedwhacker just threw it's very last hissy fit. I wonder if I could borrow a goat for a few days?


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## motivated (Sep 6, 2004)

I here you on that. This year since hubby has a heart attack #2 I had to pay help to rake our hillsides down and pay to dump it. These are steep hillsides and the guys get $20 per hour x2 of them. They have been at it for 3 days now. The other side of the hill collapsed from snow weight last winter and the retainer blocks so far have been $1200 plus 2 guys at $20 per hour this is the 4th day of it. I feel bad because it was part of my cushion in case I get my hours cut at work. Hopefully my garden will do well this year.


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## COSunflower (Dec 4, 2006)

We are having our first nice weekend in about a month so I am cleaning the yard too!!! I broke and sprained my ankle bad a couple months ago and finally got rid of my cast and now have a leg brace thing. I am going to have to get out there and do the best I can - some of my grass is a foot tall too and the weeds have had a hey day plus the pups have torn things up all over the place!!! One step at a time I guess!


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## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

It's just frustrating because I have 2 full trash cans of yard waste, I look up there and you cannot even tell I did anything! The yard is a hill, and I started at the top. Hopefully, this week will show the work, as garbage goes on Monday and I can refill those cans on Tuesday!


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## Sumer (May 24, 2003)

I have been doing little spurts and sections at a time as I can. Today I tried out my new pruners. They were a mothers day present from my son. I Cut a bunch of branches and junk trees growing along the fence. Their great work like butter.
I weeded the flowers a bit and went over to the forclosed house next door to dig up some flowers the bank people I know will cut down when they mow the lawn.
I have some chicks and hens in a pot on my outside table (spool) and I got a chuckle out of noticing some excaped and planted themselfs on the ground.
Oh ya I finally planted some (forgot their name) flowers in the front. They have been sitting in the plastic stuff for a week.
Flox? something like that anyways. little purplish blue (comes in white and pink too) ground cover type flowers.
Im beat now.


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## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

Well, I got even more grapevines pruned out of the trees, trimmed back said trees and chopped up a ton of grapevines and rose bush canes. Rooted about 8 rosebush canes and found another one in the tall grass, so planted it in a pot.

Planted columbine and curlicue in pots, put forgetmenots into the ground. Discovered violets, johnny jump ups, blue bells and raspberry bushes in the far end of the yard. It's getting crowded back there!


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## farmmom (Jan 4, 2009)

I've gotten my front yard cut. My back yard has grass as tall as my 11 year old son. I'm NOT cutting it. As soon as my fence is finished, I'm turning my goats and calf out on it. I'll let them cut it for me!! Also picking up lots of branches.


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## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

Farm mom~

I'm seriously thinking of borrowing a goat or 2 for my little yard. It's much to rough to use a lawn mower with, and my weed whacker gave up the ghost! 

Don't those little branches drive you insane? Every time I turn around, there are more small ones. I shouldn't really complain about them, though. There are so many songbirds nesting on and around my yard, and the sticks come from them!


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## Sumer (May 24, 2003)

I wish I could have a goat here where I live. The grass is growing faster than I can keep up with it. I have new neighbors on the one side and that would be fun to explain to them LOL. They are amazed that I have a garden.

On the other side where there is still nobody living there, Its going on 2 years now and its great! My little yellow flowers are starting to bloom. They started out mine but they migrated thru the fence and Im glad I got some because a lot of mine were bug eaten last year.
The bank people came to mow the yard the day after I got them, after letting it go for a month till it was a foot tall. Then the next day they came out again and mowed it all over again. 

They picked up the trash that blew over there and put it in a pile but then left it to blow again. Twice!! They sure arent the brightest bunch. I had to mow a lot of the weeds myself over there where they took out some flower border blocks. Just to show them they should mow all the way up to the house. It was looking hidious. Its still bad, there are trees starting to grow ON the porch but the birds nesting there are sweet.

If it dosent rain today I want to find my weed eater in the shed and see if it still works.


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## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

Sumer, how did you resist going over and just digging up flowers and such? The bank would probably give you permission! They might even pay you to mow the yard!

I'd be borrowing the goat from my landlord-he has 4. He's even offered to help me build a chicken coop and get chickens! However, he's bringing me a weedwhacker today. He's afraid the neighbors would object to the smell of goat manure. I don't understand the problem, myself. I've been in his goat pens and it doesn't smell at all. If I raked it up and composted it, I don't think anyone would notice!


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## Sumer (May 24, 2003)

Ninn said:


> Sumer, how did you resist going over and just digging up flowers and such? The bank would probably give you permission! They might even pay you to mow the yard!


The girl that used to own the house didnt really have all that many flowers that already hadnt found their way over to my yard over the years already. She was very nice and we traded flowers years ago. I was sad when she lost the house.

LOL Ninn I am not looking for more work to do. I got enough here. Im betting they woudnt pay me to do it anyway. I dont like the bank people, I guess its just some co. they hire to do the yard but I still dont like them. They already have been rude to me and my son. 

Where I live the city is cracking down on forclosed houses going to pot. There are lots of them here in Michigan. Its income for the city too and they are getting desperate because of the economy. Since they were rude their yard can accumulate tickets all summer for too long grass and junk and weeds as far as I care.
I think it might have even been the city cutting the lawn the first time cause the bank took so long to do it. They will charge the bank for that too.

My job is to make mine look better so theirs looks worse LOL. :hobbyhors 

I guess Im getting mean in me old age. :croc:


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## Sumer (May 24, 2003)

I could not stay inside yesterday. It was just too nice so I attacked the outside again.

I mowed the front lawn and raked it into piles to pick up later.
I carefully considered the weather and determined it is now safe to put the snow shovels away. 
Moved 2 planters full of nothing into the back yard & filled another one too heavy to move with more dirt. Flowers to be added later. 
Filled the flat tires on my garden wagon after finding the tire pump & tire gage.
Went and got a plastic tubâs worth of compost from the city. Itâs mostly ground up Christmas trees & grass clippings and itâs free. Then shoveled it from my car trunk, straining it thru a wire screen for big sticks and rocks, into the wagon and dumped it in a hole I want to turn into a flower bed. I figure it will take 4 more wagon loads to fill this hole up.
I repaired the legs of a small lopsided wooden table I keep on my porch. This is something I have been putting off for a year. Then I stained it with a gallon of deck stain I got for a dollar at a yard sale the other day. Yea! Itâs not lopsided anymore!
I wanted to stain my spool table too but when I moved it I discovered it was encrusted with dirt & starting to rot on the bottom so just for kicks & to make it into an even bigger project I had to scrape off dirt and hose it off. Itâs now trying to dry off & will turn into next weekendâs project.
Then I spent a few hours sweeping, clipping, weeding and arranging rocks. 


Things I learned yesterday:

If youâre going to drop a planter full of dirt its better to drop it on the grass (or within at least a foot of the grass if youâre lucky).

6 years after your eldest son moves out of the home is too late to punish him for finding ancient be-beâs imbedded in your wooden patio furniture.

If youâre going to spill a glass of coke, do not spill it on the lawnmowerâs engine. 

The telephone will ring just long enough for you to stop what youâre doing, get up, take off your gloves, make it into the house and pick up the phone to hear âClickâ.

Wasps like to build nests under plastic lawn chair seats.


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